On Monday evening, the Bermudian Springs school board proposed a change to its Resource Materials Policy that would ban books that contain sexual content from district schools. The board also created a new committee to enforce the ban.
The new policy would ban books that contain references to “sexual intercourse, masturbation, sadism, masochism, bestiality, fellatio, cunnilingus, sodomy, exhibition of genitals or nudity if such nudity is depicted for the purpose of sexual stimulation or gratification, or any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts.”
The ban would apply to reference books, instructional materials, multimedia materials, maps, library books, periodicals, and software. Instructional books that “contain anatomical diagrams for science and health instruction or classical works of art” are excepted, but only for middle and high school students.
The ban would supplant a current district-wide procedure that allows parents to choose books they see as appropriate for their children.
The board voted 7-1 to advance the changes for a first reading, with board member Matthew Nelson opposing the change. The final vote will be in April.
Changes to Policy 109
The version of Policy 109 that is currently in effect is less than two pages long. Among other guidelines, it states that resource materials “shall be suited to the varied interests, abilities, reading levels, and maturation levels of the students to be served.”
The draft version of the updated policy strikes out the words, “maturation levels” in favor of, “at an age-appropriate level.”
The newer version now fills nearly four pages and more closely defines what materials are deemed appropriate, with separate restrictions for elementary, middle and high school materials.
In the old version, the definition of resource materials “shall include reference books, supplementary titles, multimedia materials, maps, library books, software and instructional material.”
The updated version retains that definition but adds some key changes, adding “periodicals” and “classroom library books” to the list affected by the policy.
At the end of the definition, the words, “presented to students” are also added.
The updated policy also defines “implied sex acts” as “a depiction that implies that a sex act is about to occur, is occurring, or has just occurred.”
The newer version also defines “borderline resource materials” as “when an administrator is unsure if a resource material meets the criteria of the age-appropriate guidelines below.”
A new committee, CIRA (Curriculum, Instruction, Resource, and Assessment) is also named in the definitions.
The updated version of the policy details new procedures for approving materials. Those found to be “borderline” are sent to the CIRA committee “at least 14 days before the next committee meeting.” A teacher or staff member who is not certain whether a resource material falls within the approved guidelines is directed to ask a building administrator. Should the building administrator also be uncertain, the issue is escalated to the committee before the resource can be purchased.
“The CIRA committee may take up to 60 days to determine whether a borderline case will be recommended as a resource material,” the new draft states. “If a resource material is approved by the CIRA committee, then the recommendation will move forward for potential board approval. Resource materials recommended by the superintendent require a majority vote of the board, otherwise resource materials can be approved by a two-thirds vote of the board as per Pennsylvania law.”
Because of the two-week minimum to submit borderline items prior to a CIRA committee meeting, as well as the 60-day limit the committee would be allowed to take to make a decision, it could take up to two and a half months for a borderline material to be approved or rejected.
The updates state that teachers or librarians who want to choose a resource material send the request “to the superintendent or designee,” and that “all resource materials must meet the age-appropriate guidelines below.”
The policy also caps the amount of borderline materials that the committee will review at one time to 10 materials per month unless the committee chair allows more.
The policy states that materials brought onto school property by a student are excluded from the policy guidelines, which only apply to school resource materials.
The updated draft of the policy prohibits the high school library, classroom library or curricular resource material from having “visual or visually implied depiction of sexual acts or simulations of sex acts, explicit written descriptions of acts, (and) visual depictions of nudity – except for science and health instruction or classical works of art.”
At the middle school level, the same guidelines are in place, though the last line is slightly different and disallows, “visual depictions of nudity – except for anatomical diagrams for science and health instruction or classical works of art.”
The updated version of the policy would prohibit elementary school libraries, classroom libraries or curricular resource materials from having, “visual or visually implied depiction of sexual acts or simulations of sex acts, explicit written descriptions of sex acts, non-explicit written references to sex acts except for the purposes of teaching students to avoid and report molestation, (and) visual depictions of nudity or depictions that imply a person is not wearing clothing/swimsuit, where private areas are strategically covered or not shown, but where such depictions are intended to draw the viewers’ attention to the person’s private areas.”
Unlike the middle and high school levels, there are no exceptions for health, science, or classical art at the elementary level.
At all three school levels, the policy adds that material illegal to provide to minors is also not allowed.
The newer version of the policy allows for district employees and board members to reference resource review sites to help them, but adds that “such source’s conclusions as to the age-appropriateness of material shall not be deemed conclusive.”
The draft policy also adds that, “locally elected school board officials have the right to set age-appropriate guidelines for their local school district.”
Confusion and questions
The changes to the policy have brought questions about interpretation and implementation from board members and administration.
Dr. Shannon Myers, assistant superintendent in the district, said that as the policy is written, it could affect existing materials currently on shelves in the district.
“Obviously there are going to be conversations about what do we do with the current materials that are in place,” Myers said. “How are we going to handle removing texts that maybe don’t follow the guidelines? One of the implications that I shared with (school board member) Jen (Goldhahn) is that classroom libraries are teacher libraries, so we don’t fund classroom libraries. We don’t purchase them as a district.”
Myers said that classroom libraries are privately supplied by teachers.
“Teachers, especially literature teachers who love books, bring their own, kind of build their own classroom libraries, and so I don’t know what the implications this policy might have on classroom libraries,” Myers said.
During the February meeting when Superintendent Shane Hotchkiss asked Goldhahn whether she intended for new and current materials or only new materials to be affected by the policy.
At that time, Goldhahn stated that only new materials would be affected, but soon after added that materials going before a student are subject to the policy.
During the meeting on Monday, Hotchkiss sought further clarification about the materials that would be affected. Currently, the district keeps content Hotchkiss called “mature” for grade levels in the media center, but they require parents’ permission for a child to check them out.
“The parent has the ability to get the book and look at it,” Hotchkiss said. “The parent has the ability to review the book.”
Goldhahn said that the permission slip parents receive when a child wants to check out a book deemed to be mature is “very vague” and leaves parents in the dark about exactly what type of content is in the book.
Myers said that the updated policy would remove the ability for parents to choose to allow their children to read more mature materials from the restricted section.
“But under this policy, it’s my understanding that those books would be removed completely from the library,” Myers said. “If we’re aware of it, it would need to come out. We’re not reviewing every text in the library, is the conversation that Jen and I had – that wouldn’t be the expectation. That would be what the challenge process would potentially be for. But if we are aware – so any of those books that are currently on the restricted or whatever you want to call it (shelf), require parent permission based on parent content – would just be removed completely.”
The challenge process would allow for someone to question a material and take it to the committee.
Nelson argued that for materials to be in the library, staff must have felt they had educational value.
Myers said the books selected are often chosen from young adult book lists published by library associations.
Nelson worried the restrictions would remove beneficial books.
“Anytime there’s an excerpt from a book that’s a 400-page book that has a paragraph that maybe has some questionable words in it, that doesn’t negate the educational value of that book overall,” Nelson said. “So then if a teacher has it in the library or in the classroom, they’ve made the determination, along with our administration, that the educational value of that book is more important to our students than a potential word for genitalia or some other objectionable word.”
Goldhahn said that in February 2022 she read excerpts from book to the board that she felt contained inappropriate content for the school district.
Assistant secretary Mary Kemper agreed, saying one book contained a depiction of “explicit child rape.”
District Superintendent Shane Hotchkiss said that since that incident was brought up, the district has modified its systems to allow parents to preview materials their child would be provided so they could choose to skip materials they were uncomfortable with.
“To rehash where we are now, every course 5-12 has a syllabus, has the books on there – and if a potential use of the book – parents should see that right now,” Hotchkiss said. “And if they’re not, we should be hearing from parents because of that conversation that we had. So that situation you described should not happen again with the process that we’ve already put in place.”
Board members also disagreed on terminology, with Nelson stating that the policy has morphed into a book ban while Goldhahn felt that the policy simply updated guidelines, adding that since students could still bring their own materials on campus regardless of the resource material guidelines, the policy does not constitute a ban.
Nelson argued that a parent choosing to have their child skip a particular material was “completely different” than a book being removed from the district altogether.
Further along in the debate, Hotchkiss continued to request clarification about whether materials already contained in a restricted area that require parent permission to check out would have to be removed entirely.
“In the middle school, if they’re not age-appropriate,” board member Ruth Griffie said.
Myers noted that the middle school contains 5th through 8th grade, representing a wide range of maturity levels.
“Something could be in the media center because it’s age appropriate for 8th grade but not 5th grade, but it’s still there because it’s one media center for all,” Hotchkiss added.
Griffie was opposed to the material being in the middle school library.
“Eighth grade is not appropriate for this material,” Griffie said. “Absolutely not. If you want to teach your kids that material at your house, that’s your business. But it does not belong in a public school library, period.”
Myers said the same issue applies at the high school, where younger students may not be ready for the materials that older students use.
Myers also asked board president Daniel Chubb why he mentioned content with drug references at one point and whether the updated policy, which currently only places restrictions on materials with sexual content, was intended to affect materials containing drug references.
Chubb and Goldhahn both clarified that the policy does not mention and is not intended to include restrictions related to drug references, though Griffie implied that it could come up in the future.
“Maybe the drugs will be addressed next time,” Griffie said.
Public response
Towards the end of Monday’s caucus meeting, two individuals addressed the board during the time for public comment, both with opposing opinions regarding the updated policy.
Jennifer Zerfing voiced concerns with the changes to Policy 109, saying it was “effectively a book ban” despite assurances from board members that it is not.
“It was even mentioned that right now it’s sexually explicit materials, but next it might be drugs or something else, you know,” Zerfing said. “My concern is that this opens the door and it’s a slippery slope for censorship and taking books that are valuable to our kids.”
Zerfing used the example of, “Born a Crime,” a book by Trevor Noah, as a potentially problematic material under the new guidelines.
“According to CommonSenseMedia.org, ‘Born a Crime’ by Trevor Noah has a lot of cursing,” Zerfing said. “So I wonder if the f-word counts under that policy. It sounded like it wouldn’t be counted as sexually explicit, but I’m not sure. But it said, ‘There are some descriptions of sex and pornography.’ So in just hearing the discussion, I haven’t been able to read the proposed policy, but in hearing the discussion it sounds like descriptions of sex and pornography would mean that that book wouldn’t be allowed in this school district at all.”
Zerfing said both she and her child enjoyed the book, and despite having listened to the audiobook, her child requested the paper copy from a teacher. In Zerfing’s case, the current practice of asking the parent for permission to allow her child to read the book worked, according to Zerfing.
“I’m sure there are some people in that classroom who, if they would have got that email, might have said, ‘No, my child’s not ready for that content. I don’t want them to read it,’” Zerfing said. “And that is their choice. And some of you even ran on a platform of the importance of parent choice, and I agree with you. It is important for parents to be able to have a say in what their kids read or don’t read. But if you’re going to wholesale take a bunch of books out of our district, you’re taking away the choice from the parents.”
Zerfing also requested that the board “maintain collegiate discourse,” adding that it is difficult for the public to follow the heated debates “when lots of different people are talking over each other and insulting other board members.”
Jake Butcher of Latimore Township said he had the opposite takeaway after hearing the discussion.
“I guess I’m old-fashioned, but we have a ‘Greatest Generation’ that didn’t think that it was necessary to be sexualized,” Butcher said. “They thought it was a good idea to be educated.”
Butcher felt the guidelines draw a necessary line.
“… I agree with you’re trying to do, and I like what the boundaries are and the way that you guys are going to go about it,” Butcher said. “I agree wholeheartedly. I don’t believe that you’re trying to rule like a king or anything like that. I just wanted to say that I support you guys and in the effort of trying not sexualize our children.”
Butcher also felt the heated arguments were justified.
“I think when someone’s playing devil’s advocate there’s no other way to do it than sometimes you get a little boisterous and you get loud, so it didn’t hurt my feelings,” Butcher said.
One individual also voiced concerns opposing the changes to Policy 109 during the regular meeting on Tuesday evening.
During the regular board meeting on Tuesday evening, the updated policy was passed for a first reading 7-1, with Nelson voting against the update.
It will not go into effect until it is approved for a final reading in April.
Elementary school principal
The board approved hiring Dr. Danielle Curzi as the new principal of Bermudian Springs Elementary School.
Curzi is taking the place of Jennifer Eley, who resigned.
The board also approved hiring Ryan Murphy as the assistant principal at the elementary school. Murphy, a seventh-grade math teacher, has been the acting elementary assistant principal since the former assistant principal, Ethan Sentz, resigned.
2024-25 budget
Justin Peart, business manager for the district, provided the board with a review of its options and financial updates.
Peart said that a reduction in Lincoln Intermediate Unit services in the amount of $36,936, paired with an increase in the district’s transportation subsidy of $115,063, meant that the board saw a bump of $151,999.
Peart reminded the board of its real estate tax options and the financial implications of approving no tax increase or varied increases up to the Act One Index.
The business manager also apprised the board of several planned expenses, including auditorium floor refinishing and auditorium intercom headsets, work on a room for high school e-sports, and a new MacBook cart at the high school.
The board requested more information on the items for the April meeting.
While long-term budget projections are notoriously tricky and are subject to a variety of influences, Peart remained optimistic about the first two years of the district’s three-year projection.
“We’re good for two years as long as things don’t go haywire,” Peart said.
While the third year showed the district experiencing a deficit, Peart said the projections look better than they have in at least four years.
“In that second year, that end-of-year number has always been negative for at least the past four years,” Peart said. “So that’s effort that we as a district and you as a board, and prior boards, have taken to get us to this position.”
Peart also showed the board expenses that have been covered by ESSERS funds since the pandemic, but with ESSERS funds discontinued, Peart said the district will have to look for other funding for those items or make changes.
Peart said that he will provide the board with an update in April. The board is anticipated to approve a preliminary budget in May and the final budget in June.
PSERS resolution
The board approved a resolution requesting that the state take over PSERS contributions, voting 7-1 to approve the resolution on Tuesday evening.
Nelson voted against approving the resolution.
While Nelson said he supported the intention of the resolution, he did not approve the wording of the resolution.
When the first version of the resolution was resleased, the words used generated “panic” in the district as reported by Hotchkiss during the board’s February meeting, as some individuals in the district interpreted the initial resolution as saying that the district would no longer pay into teachers’ retirement.
The resolution requests that the state take on the local PSERS contributions for districts in order to free up funds.
Nelson requested that some language, including phrases referencing local PSERS contribution as a “burden,” be changed to ensure no one misinterpreted the district’s meaning or felt that the school board considered supporting teachers to be a burden.
Other board members disagreed, feeling that the intention of the resolution and the board’s respect for the district’s teachers are clear.
“I think we explained the concept extremely well over a period of time and everybody should know exactly how we feel about it,” Griffie said on Monday. “I don’t see any misconstruing anything here, only be certain parties, what is misconstrued, because they only want to believe it’s misconstrued.”
Other business
The board approved adding a junior high and varsity girls’ wrestling team at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.
The board will hold its next caucus meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 8.
The next regular voting meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9.
The board often discusses its agenda and upcoming issues in detail during the caucus meeting before voting on a topic during the regular meeting.
The public is able to attend the meetings in person or watch the livestream on the district’s YouTube channel.
Imari Scarbrough is a freelance journalist. She was a staff newspaper reporter for five years before becoming a freelancer in 2017. She has written on crime, environmental issues, severe weather events, local and regional government and more.
You can visit her website at ImariJournal.com.