The Alberta Teachers Association is getting fed up with provincial government's "games" regarding book bans which schools are required to carry out. Premier Danielle Smith speaks with reporters in this file photo.--CP FILE PHOTO
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A new policy that seeks to remove books with explicit sexual content, especially images, is set to come into effect Oct. 1. But on Tuesday, the province announced it will pause ministerial orders issued to school boards earlier in the summer to make changes.
The ministerial order, issued July 4, sought for school authorities to develop policies regarding the selection and availability of library materials in schools which included banning books that include what the province deemed explicit sexual written material.
“Until further notice, please pause all implementation efforts outlined in the Ministerial Order (#30/2025), including removing materials containing depictions of explicit sexual content from school libraries,” reads an email sent by Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides.
Now, according to Premier Danielle Smith, the province is backtracking requirements and is only concerned about banning books with sexual images.
“It’s images that we’re concerned about, graphic images, and we were hoping that the school boards would be able to identify those on their own and work with us to try and make sure that pornographic images are not being shown to young children,” said Smith during a press conference at Big Marble Farms on Tuesday.
Demetrios said the policy aimed to put rules in place for schools without standards for age-appropriate material. Under his order, schools were tasked with implementing clear policies by the new year.
Throughout the summer the province gathered feedback from public engagements which it says will be used during the creation of a framework of standards.
“The ministerial order that (Minister Demetrios) is reissuing to focus on pornographic images with examples and titles of at least four books, I’m hoping that will give pretty clear guidance to the schools boards of what we are looking for,” added Smith.
Four works provided as examples by the province include “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, “Fun Home” by Alision Bechdel, “Blankets” by Draig Thompson and “Flamer” by Mike Curato.
Each of these works has been flagged for “sexual activities and nudity, as well as other mature content, including drug and alcohol use, self-harm and suicidal commentary,” the government states.
The province’s teachers association says teachers are already overburdened as they return to class and say the province needs to stop their “ill-timed game of Red Light, Green Light.”
“We urge the government to stop playing games with teachers and students and put a full stop to policing school library materials,” reads a statement from an Alberta Teachers Association press release.
“Teachers are now responsible for sorting and calling not only library books, but also books that they have accumulated in their own classroom,” said Jason Schilling, president, ATA, during a press conference held on Aug. 29.
Schilling says as class sizes continue to soar and new curriculums and standardized testing being added, the workload for teachers has increased and job expectations have grown.
“Managing opt-in permission forms for sensitive content is new, and navigating new protocols around gender identity has caused anxiety amongst the membership,” Schilling added.
Under the paused ministerial order, schools were also tasked to implement a directive on how their policy would be maintained.
