KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A new law requires all Tennessee schools to pull books with explicit sexual content or "excessive violence" off of library shelves. The Knox County School board voted Thursday to pass a policy revision that adds language from the Tennessee Age-Appropriate Materials Act.
While the law went into effect on July 1, KCS Superintendent Dr. Jon Rycewyk said it would take much longer for the district to comply.
"I just want to be real clear to you all, and the public, we will not be in compliance with this law when school starts the first day," Dr. Rycewyk said at the school board meeting.
Leaders with the school district add that the earliest work can be started on identifying and removing books would be when librarians return on Aug. 1.
"Thinking about timeline, our first opportunity for Sarah and her team to even be with that collective group is our in-service day in early August," Dr. Keith Wilson, assistant superintendent with the district, said. "From there and from those conversations we'll start working towards a process."
The assistant superintendent also said they expect state leaders to offer more guidance about certain books, language, or behavior falling within the updated law.
Dr. Rycewyk said the district will start with what he calls "direct violations" and then move to books and content that may be a tougher call.
"We obviously will start with obvious ones," Dr. Rycewyk said. "There's a whole lot of grey, this is why these kinds of laws are difficult to translate. There will be some things that are real easy, that are direct violations and we'll work and prioritize those first."
During the meeting, one board member urged people upset by the wider book ban to voice their concerns with the school board and state lawmakers.
While the district didn't talk about specific books at Thursday's meeting, WBIR has made a public records request with the district to let us know any books the district bans and on what grounds.