EDMONTON — Alberta's education minister says sexually explicit content must be gone from school library shelves as of Oct. 1, but the move is not about book banning.
Demetrios Nicolaides says the announcement is about putting rules in place for schools that until now have had no provincewide standard for selecting age-appropriate books for their libraries.
"This was never about erasing particular narratives from school libraries,” Nicolaides told a news conference in Calgary on Thursday.
“This is simply about ensuring young students are not exposed to content depicting oral sex, child molestation or other very inappropriate content.”
As part of the announcement, Nicolaides issued a list of specific sex acts that can't be explicitly described in library books alongside new rules for what students can read.
No students will be allowed to access what the government calls explicit sexual content, including detailed depictions of masturbation, sexual penetration or sexual physical contact.
Students in Grade 10 and above will be allowed to read non-explicit content, if it is developmentally appropriate.
Religious texts, such as the Bible, will be allowed on the shelves, something Nicolaides said is important to preserving freedom of religion.
What the government calls "non-sexual content," including descriptions of puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, kissing or handholding, will still be accessible.
School boards must review library materials, and school officials will be tasked with supervising students to make sure they are reading appropriate material. No additional funds will be allotted for this work.
Other deadlines will follow.
By Jan. 1, new school board policies must be in place dictating how books are selected and reviewed. School divisions will also need to publish a full list of available materials.
Nicolaides said he doesn't have the authority under the Education Act to dictate specific books be removed. He added that there is no specific enforcement mechanism but trusts schools will follow the policy.
The new policy stems from an announcement Nicolaides made in May after he said four inappropriate coming-of-age graphic novels were found in school libraries in Edmonton and Calgary.
He said each book contains graphic sexual material as well as depictions of molestation and drug and alcohol use.
The government launched an online survey before Thursday’s announcement. It found that the majority of respondents across demographics don't support the government setting new standards for school library books.
Critics have said the province seems more concerned about engaging in culture-war politics than student well-being, as most of the books Nicolaides flagged deal with LGBTQ+ subject matter.
Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling said in a statement the new rules will add to teachers' workload, politicize a "non-issue" and target vulnerable students.
"It will have a chilling effect on our schools and signal to students who are coming to understand themselves that some expressions of their gender and sexual identities are shameful and should be hidden away," he said.
Laura Winton, past president of the Library Association of Alberta, said the policy is confusing but the result is clear. "Titles will be removed from school libraries. That is censorship," she said.
Winton said professional librarians, teachers, school boards and administrators who have expertise in children's literature and age appropriateness should be the ones deciding what should be on the shelves.
The Calgary Board of Education and Edmonton Public Schools said in separate statements they already have processes in place and their practices are guided by principles such as those published by Canadian School Libraries.
The Calgary division also said they have clear mechanisms in place for people to bring forward concerns about specific resources.
Julie Kusiek, board chair for Edmonton Public Schools, called on the minister to reconsider the Oct. 1 deadline to give teachers the time they need to catalogue classroom collections - or remove that requirement.
"Compiling a catalogue of potentially hundreds of books during this crucial time puts significant and unnecessary pressure on staff, who are already managing increasing classroom complexity and insufficient funding," said Kusiek.
Opposition NDP education critic Amanda Chapman said in a statement there are more urgent issues the United Conservative Party government should be focused on, including overcrowded classrooms and a lack of educational assistants.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.
Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
