Virginia HB 236: Local, regional, and school library material; establishment of model policies.

Bill Text

2026 SESSION

INTRODUCED

26103774D

HOUSE BILL NO. 236

Offered January 14, 2026

Prefiled January 8, 2026

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 42.1 a chapter numbered 2.1, consisting of sections numbered 42.1-45.1 through 42.1-45.4, relating to local, regional, and school library material.

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Patrons—Gardner, Carnegie, Clark, Henson and Martinez

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Referred to Committee on Education

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Title 42.1 a chapter numbered 2.1, consisting of sections numbered 42.1-45.1 through 42.1-45.4, as follows:

CHAPTER 2.1.

LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND SCHOOL LIBRARY MATERIAL.

§ 42.1-45.1. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Censorship" means the act of suppressing, restricting, removing, or prohibiting the acquisition of library material on the basis of disagreement with the material's origin or background; any views, ideas, or concepts expressed in the material; or the identity of any individual who contributed to its creation, including the race, gender, sexuality, or religious or political views of any such individual. "Censorship" does not include the act of suppressing, restricting, removing, or prohibiting the acquisition of library material on the basis that (i) such material is deemed developmentally inappropriate; (ii) the average person, applying contemporary standards, would find that the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; (iii) the material, taken as a whole, clearly depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct; or (iv) the material, taken as a whole, clearly lacks serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value.

"Developmentally inappropriate" means not structured to account for a child's age and misaligned with the cognitive, emotional, or social development of the age group of the intended audience as informed by standards and guidance from the American Library Association or any other similar well-recognized and well-established educational or developmental authority.

"Government body" means any government decision-making body or governing body, such as a library board, that exercises authority over the purchasing, selection, curation, and location of local or regional library material.

"Individual with a vested interest in the local or regional library" means any individual who resides in the locality or region that is served by the local or regional library.

"Individual with a vested interest in the school library" means any teacher in the school division in which the school library is located, any parent of a student enrolled in the school at the time that a request for reconsideration form is filed, and any student enrolled in the school at the time that a request for reconsideration form is filed.

"Librarian" means a professionally trained employee in a local, regional, or school library who is responsible for the selection, purchase, curation, display, and removal of library material.

"Library material" means any material, whether in physical or electronic form, including books, videos, subscription or locally curated databases, audio materials, government documents, interactive applications and software, or other similar materials, that is owned by, on loan to, or otherwise in the custody of a local, regional, or school library.

"Request for reconsideration" means a request to reclassify library material, move library material to a different section of the library, or remove library material from the library.

§ 42.1-45.2. Local or regional library material policy.

A. The Librarian of Virginia shall develop and the Library Board shall adopt and periodically amend as necessary a model policy on the selection, purchase, curation, display, and removal of library material and the request for reconsideration of library material in a local or regional library. Such model policy shall, at a minimum:

1. Recognize that local and regional libraries serve as centers for voluntary inquiry and the dissemination of information and ideas; 

2. Prohibit the censorship of library material;

3. Provide standards for the selection and curation of library material by the local or regional librarian while also recognizing that library material should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all library users and should present a wide range of points of view;

4. Establish criteria and a procedure, based on professional standards, for the periodic review and removal of library material by the local or regional librarian. Such criteria shall include the library material's relevance, the condition of the library material, the availability of duplicates, the availability of updated library material, and the continued demand for the library material;

5. Establish a model request for reconsideration form that may be submitted by an individ