{"id":131106,"date":"2025-09-09T11:47:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T11:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/131106\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T11:47:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T11:47:12","slug":"revised-alberta-directive-bans-books-with-visual-depictions-of-sexual-acts-from-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/131106\/","title":{"rendered":"Revised Alberta directive bans books with visual depictions of sexual acts from schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

By the end of next month, school boards and divisions must provide Premier Danielle Smith\u2019s Education Minister, Demetrios Nicolaides, with a list of literary materials they intend to remove.JASON FRANSON\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Alberta<\/a> is extensively revising its ministerial order for the removal of books in schools across the province, adjusting restrictions to include only visual depictions of sexual acts after widespread dissension erupted over the policy.<\/p>\n

The written word, particularly classic literature, will no longer be part of the bans<\/a>, Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told reporters in a Monday teleconference. <\/p>\n

He said authorities will also have more time now to implement the standards set by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith\u2019s<\/a> government.<\/p>\n

By the end of next month, school boards and school divisions must provide Mr. Nicolaides with lists of literary materials they intend to remove. That content will then be forbidden for students by Jan. 5, 2026. <\/p>\n

The restrictions have also been amended to withdraw the mention of specific age groups, meaning they will apply to all students regardless of their grade levels. That includes any part of any school in Alberta, whether it is an elementary classroom or a high-school library.<\/p>\n

Controversy around the province\u2019s plans, first announced in late May<\/a>, reached a peak before the start of the new school year, when the Edmonton Public School Board verified a list of nearly 200 books that would need to be removed under the original measures. It included classics such as The Handmaid\u2019s Tale by Margaret Atwood, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and The Color Purple by Alice Walker.<\/p>\n

Public outrage from around the world, including from Ms. Atwood and other literary heavyweights, added pressure on Alberta to make changes.<\/p>\n

Margaret Atwood responds to Alberta book ban with satirical short story<\/a><\/p>\n

In a brief e-mail Monday, Ms. Atwood told The Globe and Mail that she expects the \u201cnext move will be up to the Edmonton school board\u201d as it follows the new orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease keep files!\u201d the writer added. \u201cThis will all be a matter of research some day.\u201d <\/p>\n

Last week, Mr. Nicolaides told school boards in an internal e-mail<\/a> that his restrictions were being paused. Shortly after, the Premier vowed that rewritten guidelines would soon be released. <\/p>\n

On Monday, before publishing his revised ministerial order, Mr. Nicolaides positioned the significant changes as a matter of clarification rather than a walking back of his original restrictions.<\/p>\n

He said the changes were not the result of authors\u2019 objections, adding that the revisions addressed any \u201cmisunderstanding\u201d caused by the previous version.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur intent is the same as it was at the very beginning,\u201d he said. \u201cThe updated ministerial order really crystallizes and clarifies our intent, which is very simple: We want to ensure that material that has extremely graphic and explicit visual depictions of sexual activity is not made available.\u201d<\/p>\n

The minister, who had previously asserted that the intent of his order was to remove materials that were inappropriate for certain ages, declined to say why grade levels were no longer specified in the restrictions. <\/p>\n

According to the new order, the forbidden visual depictions include any drawings, illustrations, paintings, or photographic, video or digital representations of sexual acts. <\/p>\n

The Alberta government has rewritten its school book ban to only apply to images and illustrations of explicit sexual acts, not written descriptions. During a technical briefing with reporters, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said visual depictions have been the government’s main concern and the revised order will ensure literary classics stay in schools.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Additionally, parents or guardians are required to be informed about classroom materials. Educators could either allow them to peruse shelves at the next parent-teacher meeting, he said, or share photos of the collections. <\/p>\n

The revised order has also further clarified the definition of a sexual act to include actions that are \u201cdistinctly sexual in nature.\u201d Previously, there were three different definitions for sexual content, non-sexual content and non-explicit sexual content. <\/p>\n

Sexual acts, according to the new order, do not include activities related to puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, kissing or hand-holding.<\/p>\n

Mr. Nicolaides said novels, poetry and any other written literary work containing explicit content will be allowed to remain in schools.<\/p>\n

He said a large portion of the books that appeared on the preliminary Edmonton list will not be part of new measures. However, when asked, he did not provide a definitive list of what visual works the province will use for its order. <\/p>\n

The minister only reiterated four examples of graphic novels, each of which depict coming-of-age or LGBTQ subjects, and whose authors have told The Globe that their work has been taken out of context.<\/p>\n

Alberta does not intend to publicize any book lists that schools are required to provide Mr. Nicolaides by October, he added. He said those lists will help provincial officials with guidance and oversight, while school boards will maintain \u201cultimate responsibility\u201d over the removals.<\/p>\n

Confusion around Alberta\u2019s school library book ban driving sales at book stores<\/a><\/p>\n

Edmonton board chair Julie Kusiek said schools under her jurisdiction had developed their list \u201cin good faith\u201d to comply with the original order, even though the Premier publicly described that list as \u201cvicious compliance.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s updated ministerial order narrows the scope to explicit images, allowing classic written works to remain on our shelves,\u201d Ms. Kusiek said. \u201cDivision staff will proceed with implementing the revised government order.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joanne Anderson, a spokesperson for the Calgary Board of Education, said schools appreciate the revised order for providing additional time. \u201cWe will review the details and resume the work of reviewing literary materials and aligning our policies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Nicolaides said he would meet late Monday with various stakeholders, which \u201cprimarily\u201d include school boards, adding that he did not have time to consult with them prior to the release of his new order. <\/p>\n

He declined to say whether the stakeholders he is meeting with also include lobby groups Action4Canada, a Christian organization, and Parents for Choice in Education, which has routinely challenged LGBTQ equity in schools. Both those groups have taken credit for the province\u2019s actions against books. <\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Ms. Smith said the province instructed school boards to stop releasing their lists of banned books publicly. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just let kids be kids,\u201d the Premier said on her Saturday morning radio show. <\/p>\n

Opinion: As a professor of literature, I have serious concerns about the debates over books happening in Alberta<\/a><\/p>\n

The restrictions against books arrive at a turning point for Alberta as a labour dispute between the province\u2019s bargaining team and the teachers\u2019 union have reached a crucial impasse.<\/p>\n

As of Monday, a teachers\u2019 strike or a lockout remains a possibility<\/a>, with talks having broken off for weeks. Both the bargaining team and the union told The Globe that there have been no updates since teachers rejected proposals for some wage increases. <\/p>\n

Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers\u2019 Association, said his union members have already removed or given away many books from their classrooms and libraries, a sizable chunk of which they bought with their own money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the government first announced its intentions to ban or limit books in schools, it developed sweeping policy that caused confusion for school boards, anxiety for teachers, and caused the public to question government\u2019s priorities and the integrity of teachers in an education system that is overwhelmed and underfunded,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the restrictions are \u201can ideological commitment\u201d for the Premier\u2019s United Conservative Party supporters rather than being intended to protect children. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe fix is simple: Back down and focus on funding classrooms, not banning books,\u201d he said Monday.<\/p>\n

Joseph Jeffery, chair of the non-profit Canadian School Libraries, said the revisions are the predictable outcome of a \u201crushed\u201d policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous when you call something vicious compliance after it\u2019s doing exactly what you wanted it do,\u201d said Mr. Jeffery, who is a teacher-librarian in British Columbia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: By the end of next month, school boards and divisions must provide Premier…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,43,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,41,39,42,40,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-131106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-headlines","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}