“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain is an American classic that has been banned. It is seen here on Thursday, May 11, 2023 at the Vigo County Public Library. Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza
Shara Enyeart, a media specialist at Sugar Creek Consolidated Elementary in Vigo County, has serious concerns about new state legislation that could make it easier to ban books from public school libraries.
Parents or community members could request that materials they view as “obscene” or “harmful to minors” be removed.
Also under HEA 1447, school librarians and other educators could be punished with felonies for having/providing such books.
Vigo County schools, and most other districts, have procedures in place for parents and community members to challenge books. HEA 1447 “adds a legality … a punitive aspect that seems very overwhelming,” Enyeart said.
She has fears that a parent who is mad at her may use it as a “vengeance tool” and get her into legal trouble.
Teachers with classroom libraries could also face consequences. “I think it’s definitely a concern,” she said.
The new law requires schools to publish their library catalogues online, create a process in which community members can request certain books be banned, and removes the legal defense librarians currently have to claim a book was available for “educational” purposes if felony charges arose against them for making available books that are “harmful to minors.”
Those supporting the legislation have said it gives parents greater transparency as far as what is in school libraries, and a book would only be removed if it met the standard for obscene or harmful material under existing Indiana law.
But Enyeart believes the law’s language is vague.
It describes material deemed harmful to minors, but “what does that mean and who decides that?” she said.
She knows the state has guidelines for that, but it also “opens the gateway to parents making decisions based on their own values and their own lifestyle as opposed to librarians making decisions that will be for the good of everyone.”
She also believes the attack on books is misguided. “My biggest fear as a parent and media specialist is not a fear of books, it’s a fear of other media these kids are exposed to.”
The chance of students being exposed to something “controversial, dangerous, risky, is so much higher when they are looking at a screen than it is when they are reading a book,” Enyeart said.
Heidi McDonald, president of the Vigo County Teachers Association, said there are concerns that with the passing of HB 1447, “books dealing with race, gender, and gender identity will be removed due to those being potentially controversial, even if they do not contain any of the themes defined as harmful to minors already in Indiana law, and will only politicize the education landscape.”
District educators and media specialists in particular are trained professionals in their field. Media specialists are educated in choosing a variety of materials that are age appropriate and enrich the learning experience of students, “as well as selecting materials that reflect the diverse lives and experiences of our students,” she said.
In Vigo County and in most school corporations across the state, there is a process to request a review of a book, “but yet again the legislation with HB 1447 developed a solution looking for a problem,” McDonald said.
For many smaller corporations that do not have a digital database, this could become an increased cost to them.
She is concerned the legislation “will only further drive educators and media specialists out of the profession due to the lack of trust and respect by the state in what we do,” McDonald said.
Dave Chapman, South Vermillion schools superintendent, believes the district does “a pretty good job of making sure what books are in our library are appropriate” for students.
“My concern is I hate the tag ‘book banning’; it takes us back to Nazi Germany, if you will,” he said. “I think this is one of those things that has become politicized and it’s not about what schools are doing or not doing, it’s political viewpoints … I get it there are personal viewpoints, religious beliefs and such that goes into account, but at the same time, to me it goes back to the whole issue of trusting schools doing what is right for the kids.”
The district already has library card catalogs on the Central and Van Duyn pages of the district website and it is working on the middle school and high school. The board does have a policy for those with complaints about books or materials, “but I’m sure it will need revision,” Chapman said.
At North Central Parke schools, superintendent Mike Schimpf said the district is “still processing the requirements of this new legislation. Prior to this law, we already had a procedure for matters regarding instructional materials. We will now have to review this procedure as the law will likely impact the manner in which we go about hearing any possible concerns,” he stated.
Schimpf added, “I am concerned about the removal of schools from the list of entities that may assert specific legal defenses. I am apprehensive about language that removes protections for schools and school personnel,” Schimpf said.
Keith Gambill, president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said in a statement that throughout the legislative session, “ISTA and hundreds of educators opposed efforts to ban books and threaten educators with jail time and fines for doing their jobs. Instead, lawmakers decided to appease a small group of extremists who are focused on culture war issues and privatizing education. We stand with the majority of Hoosiers who believe in public schools and trust educators as professionals. Over the coming months, we will be monitoring the impact of this egregious new law and its impact on our members and their students.”
The Indiana School Boards Association is providing district officials with guidance on the new legislation.
“What I think the concern continues to be is making the determination regarding what constitutes material harmful to minors,” said Lisa Tanselle, ISBA general counsel.
While there is a definition in state law, “I think the concern still is how to make that decision. What do we consider in making that decision?” She believes language in the law needs to be clarified.
© 2025 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.