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By rdnewsNOW staff

Provincial Politics

Province says strong support for school library policy

Jun 23, 2025 | 1:09 PM

The Alberta government says recent survey results show strong public support for action to ensure children do not have access to age-inappropriate materials in Alberta school libraries.

Following the discovery of multiple books with what the government describes as explicit sexual content in some school libraries across the province, the Alberta government says it conducted a public engagement survey to collect feedback on the creation of consistent standards to ensure the age-appropriateness of materials available to students in school libraries.

From May 26 to June 6, the province notes, Albertans were invited to share their views on age-appropriate materials in school libraries through an online survey. According to provincial officials, almost 80,000 individual respondents completed the survey, showing significant and widespread public interest in the issue.

Alberta’s government says it will be using this input, along with ongoing feedback collected from education partners, to develop province-wide standards. These standards, says the province, will provide school boards with clear and consistent guidelines for selecting and managing age-appropriate materials in school libraries across the province.

“Parents, educators and Albertans in general want action to ensure children don’t have access to age-inappropriate materials in school libraries,” says Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Education and Childcare. “We will use this valuable input to guide the creation of a provincewide standard to ensure the policy reflects the priorities and values of Albertans.”

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Key survey findings

• When asked “At what age should children be able to access materials with sexually explicit content in school libraries,” parents said:
  • never (have access): 42 per cent
  • elementary school (age 12 and under): four per cent
  • middle school (age 12 and up): 18 per cent
  • high school (age 15 and up): 22 per cent
  • all ages (should have access): 14 per cent
• 62 per cent believe parents and guardians should have a role in reporting or challenging sexually explicit content in school libraries.
• When asked who should decide what materials are age appropriate in school libraries, the most popular responses were school librarians, teachers and parents.
• Parents of school-age children were most supportive (42 per cent) of children never being able to access these materials in schools.

Provincial officials say the online survey summary and data are available on Alberta.ca. The government says it should further be noted that this online survey was designed for public engagement and to be used as a temperature check to see what Albertans think is the best way forward on this issue.

Alberta government quick facts

• In May 2025, the Alberta government also conducted a separate public opinion polling of 1,500 adult Albertans on sexually explicit materials in school libraries:
  • 51 per cent said such materials should not be permitted in any library accessible to children.
  • 94 per cent said these materials should not be available in elementary schools.
  • 75 per cent said it’s important for parents to have a say in what materials are present in school libraries.
• Out of 196,901 entries, 118,574 duplicates and 932 blank entries were removed, resulting in a total of 77,395 responses. An additional 515 responses were received in the French language survey.
• Examples of books found in Alberta K-12 school libraries which have been identified as inappropriate include:
  • Gender Queer, graphic novel by Maia Kobabe
    • Found in K-9 schools and high schools in Calgary Board of Education as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board.
  • Fun Home, graphic novel by Alison Bechdel
    • Found in schools with students within the K-9 range as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board.
  • Blankets, graphic novel by Craig Thompson
    • Found in Schools with students within the K-9 range in Edmonton Public School Board, as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board and Calgary Board of Education.
  • Flamer, graphic novel by Mike Curato
    • Found in schools with students within the K-9 range in Calgary Board of Education and Edmonton Public School Board schools, as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board and Calgary Board of Education.

Officials with the Alberta Parents’ Union say the survey results confirm what they hear from their members – that parents overwhelmingly oppose sexually explicit content in school libraries, and they want a greater say in what their children are exposed to in the classroom.

The Union says what’s concerning, however, is just how wide the gap is between parents and school librarians, noting if consensus is going to be impossible, the question becomes who gets to decide?

“The Alberta Parents’ Union was formed around the conviction that parents – not politicians and not school librarians – are the real experts in our own kids,” said Jeff Park, Executive Director of the Alberta Parents’ Union, in a press release Friday. “If parents believe material is age-inappropriate for their child, it is.”

The Alberta Parents’ Union says it is encouraging the provincial government to take the survey results seriously and to ensure school library policies reflect the values of families.

Related information

• School library standards engagement
• Reference materials – Content warning: this document contains graphic content that may be disturbing to viewers and is not appropriate for young viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

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