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Teachers’ group calls Alberta book ban revisions an ‘improvement,’ but still government overreach
EDMONTON — The Alberta Teachers’ Association says the province’s revised school library rules provide some clarity but still represent unnecessary overreach that adds new burdens to already stretched teachers.
“When the government first announced its plans to ban or limit books in schools, it introduced sweeping policy that created confusion for school boards, anxiety for teachers, and doubt among the public,” ATA president Jason Schilling said Monday.
The updated ministerial order bans books with explicit images of sexual acts but allows works with written descriptions, after backlash over a school board’s plan to pull more than 200 titles including The Handmaid’s Tale and Brave New World.
Schilling said the revisions are “an improvement over the chaos we saw earlier,” but warned they remain sweeping legislation that “could have been resolved with a simple phone call.”
He said many schools had already removed and discarded books before the pause in implementation, calling that “a shame” given the countless hours teachers spend managing their classroom collections.
“The book ban was, and remains, an unnecessary government overreach,” Schilling said. “Without real supports for teachers and schools, the burden of implementation falls yet again on the people already stretched the thinnest.”
The ATA president also criticized blanket approaches, saying they are rarely effective whether applied to school libraries or other education policies. He pointed to ongoing controversy over a requirement for female students to provide proof of gender to participate in school sports.
“These issues demand sensitive, thoughtful conversations among schools, students and parents,” Schilling said.
School boards now have until Jan. 5, 2026, to comply with the revised order
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