Gov. Phil Murphy on Dec. 9 signed S2421/A3446, otherwise known as the Freedom to Read Act, which “establishes requirements for library material in public school libraries and public libraries” and also “protects school library staff members and librarians.”
“[This legislation] will ensure generations of New Jersey’s children can continue to discover the wonders that await them in the books all around us,” Murphy said from the Princeton Public Library. “This law will also protect the rights of young New Jerseyans to access developmentally appropriate books, including diverse and inclusive materials that will help them learn and grow. And it will ensure that those materials remain accessible in our schools and in our public libraries.”
Among those in attendance Dec. 9 for the bill signing was AFTNJ President Jennifer S. Higgins, who noted beforehand that accessing books through public libraries and at libraries in public schools “is an essential component to our public education system.”
Higgins added, “The Freedom to Read Act ensures that access to books continues, that library personnel are also protected, and that only a child’s parents get to decide what a child reads.”
ABOVE: AFTNJ President Jennifer S. Higgins and others stand behind Gov. Phil Murphy as he prepares to sign the Freedom to Read Act on Dec. 9 in Princeton.