The “Freedom to Read” Act, controversial legislation signed a month ago by Gov. Phil Murphy, sets standards for removing books from school and public libraries, protects rights to free access to age-appropriate books and materials, and shields librarians from harassing lawsuits and criminal charges.

The law requires school boards and the governing bodies of public libraries to develop policies for the removal of any library material. A number of groups, including the New Jersey School Boards Association and the state Department of Education, are charged with helping to develop such policies.

The law will not go into effect until Dec. 9, to allow officials time to develop the required guidelines.

For some the law goes too far. They argue that it should be parents, not the state government, who set standards for children’s access to books. State Sen. Michael Testa (R-1) argued that if material deemed obscene is shown to students, librarians and others who made that material available should not be granted immunity from legal action.

Controversy has been particularly strong over books that have LBGTQ themes, an area in which many parents feel they should be the ones deciding what their children should be exposed to.

In Ocean City, school board member Catherine Panico used a board meeting in February 2024 to warn about the legislation, then making its way through legislative committees in Trenton.

In her remarks, Panico said the bill removed parents’ rights and local school board authority from decisions on appropriate books in school libraries.

Ocean City High School student Brian Garrabrant spoke in opposition to Panico’s comments, arguing that “conservative extremist groups” were targeting the LGBTQ community in the “name of protecting children.”

The First District team of Testa and Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen, representing Cape May County, voted no on the bill.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.