In 2018 the Park County School District 6 board in Cody revised its book policy after a couple of library books were challenged. In that initial period, one was removed from the library and one was kept.

Board members at the time decided they needed a better system, so they revised the policy. Now, parents receive an email when their child has checked out a book, so they can intervene if needed.

It’s an example of making the policy more inclusive of parents, and it appears our school district is thinking along the same lines, as a good portion of the committee working to revise the policy on library books includes community members, and especially parents.

As parents of two children in Park County School District 1, my wife and I appreciate the school district making a point of including parents in the discussion. After all, parents are the ones who trust the education and safety of their children to the schools.

Personally, I really liked that in the Cody district the policy to send emails to parents about what books children were checking out turned it into a personal decision. I know full well that there are many different views amongst parents throughout Powell and some books that I wouldn’t object to my sons’ reading may be objectionable to another parent, and vice versa. By putting the knowledge of what children are checking out in the hands of individual parents, it allows not just for a one-size-fits-all approach but for a policy focusing on the individual relationships between parents and children.

And, yes, there are definitely some books out there that simply should not be in school libraries, but as a journalist who relies on the First Amendment, I always err on the side of more options than less.

That means there will be some books some parents may object to their children reading. That’s fine. By ensuring that community and parent voices are heard in the process, I’m confident our school district will have a policy that ensures parents have a major say.