Bill > SB208

This bill, known as the Granite State Literacy Act, mandates that by July 1, 2026, all local school boards and public library boards of trustees must establish and adopt policies for curating and removing library materials. These policies are intended to promote intellectual freedom and prevent censorship, defining censorship as blocking or removing material due to disagreement with its ideas or because it's found offensive, but not for being developmentally inappropriate for certain age groups. The bill requires the Department of Education and the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, respectively, to develop model policies in collaboration with relevant organizations to assist local entities. Furthermore, the bill outlines specific procedures for handling requests to remove materials, including the formation of review committees and a final decision-making process by the school board or library trustees, who must provide public written reasons for their decisions. Importantly, the bill also provides legal protections for school librarians, library media specialists, and other teaching staff, granting them immunity from liability for good faith actions taken under these policies and allowing them to sue for damages if harassed for complying with the law.

Education

https://gc.nh.gov/bill_Status/billinfo.aspx?id=998&inflect=2