September 8,2025
RED FM News Desk
Alberta has updated its rules on school library books, banning works with explicit visual depictions of sexual acts but allowing written descriptions to remain. The change was outlined in a new ministerial order released Monday.
The original July order had instructed schools to remove materials with written or visual depictions of sexual acts, leading Edmonton Public Schools to draw up a list of 226 books to be pulled — including classics like The Handmaid’s Tale, The Color Purple, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Godfather, and Jaws. The backlash prompted Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides to pause implementation and review the policy.
Nicolaides said the government’s intention has always been to block access to “extremely graphic and explicit visual depictions of sexual activities,” not classic works of literature. The new order replaces the phrase “written passage” with “visual depiction,” which is defined as images such as drawings, illustrations, photographs, digital media, or video. Anatomy books and religious texts are exempt.
The revised order also removes distinctions by grade level, meaning even high school students will not be permitted access to non-explicit but descriptive sexual content.
Schools now have until Jan. 5, 2026, to fully comply, though they must still submit lists of materials slated for removal by the end of October. Teachers’ personal classroom libraries remain exempt from the public cataloguing requirement, but schools must continue to maintain public lists of other available literature.
The July order was sparked by advocacy groups calling for the removal of four graphic novels that included nudity, child sexual assault, and explicit sex acts. Critics — including educators, authors, and civil liberties advocates — have accused the province of censorship.
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