AMENDMENT(S) PROPOSED BY THE HOUSE

DEL. SIMON

1. After line 15, Introduced

insert

Such model policies shall include a prohibition on local school boards removing or restricting access to any printed or audiovisual material available in school libraries solely on the basis of the presence of characters, literary elements, themes, symbols, or other literary content relating to protected classes or protected characteristics.

Such model policies shall include a requirement that each school board apply review standards and procedures related to the removal or restriction of access to printed or audiovisual material available in public secondary school libraries, including those involving sexual content or nudity, consistently and equally, free from viewpoint discrimination based on the presence of characters, literary elements, themes, symbols, or other literary content relating to protected classes or protected characteristics.

As used in this enactment:

"Printed or audiovisual material" means any material purchased by, donated to, or otherwise made available to a library at a public elementary or secondary school that are available in a print format, including books, periodicals, newspapers, and documents, or available in a nonprint format, including recordings of sound or images and other multimedia or digital sources.

"Protected characteristics" means characteristics of or relating to protected classes, including race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability or other medical condition, and includes characters, literary elements, themes, symbols, or other literary content, fictional or nonfictional, relating to or referencing those characteristics.

"Protected classes" means those groups of people protected under subdivision B 1 of § 2.2-3900.