Tomorrow (November 28th), the Senate Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families will hold a public hearing on SB 597, authored by Sen. Romaine Quinn (R- Cameron) and Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R- Oconomowoc). This bill requires school boards to develop and implement a policy for notifying parents/guardians of children under 16 of each material checked out by their child at school libraries. It also would require boards to issue an annual notification to parents/guardians if it will allow students in the district to access materials through BadgerLink, an electronic collection on library resources.
SB 597 was introduced back at the end of October, along with a partner bill, SB 598, that establishes similar standards for public libraries outside school districts. It has since picked up the support of numerous GOP legislators. Democratic members of the legislature are expected to oppose this measure, and have introduced alternative legislation that promotes privacy and access to information. Read the full bill text below.
Senate Committee on Mental Health, Substance Abuse Prevention, Children and Families
Senate Bill 597 — Relating to: parental notification related to school library materials.
By Senators Quinn; cosponsored by Representatives Dittrich
From a Legislative Reference Bureau analysis: “This bill requires school boards to develop and implement a policy under which the custodial parent or guardian of a pupil who is under the age of 16 is notified of each document or material the pupil checks out from a school library as soon as is practicable, but no later than 24 hours after the checkout. Under current law, subject to various exceptions, library records that identify who borrows or uses a library material may not be disclosed. One of the exceptions is for custodial parents of a child who is under the age of 16. Specifically, current law requires, upon the request of a custodial parent or guardian of a child who is under the age of 16, a library supported by public funds to disclose to the custodial parent or guardian all library records relating to the use of the library’s documents or other materials, resources, or services by the child.
