Alberta takes hard line against porn books in school libraries

The Alberta government is cracking down on schools refusing to deal with the presence of explicit pornographic materials in K-12 school libraries.

Source: Government of Alberta

The Alberta government is cracking down on schools refusing to deal with the presence of explicit pornographic materials in K-12 school libraries.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced a public consultation Monday, with the aim of creating mandatory, provincewide standards that will dictate which materials are considered appropriate for K–12 students.

“It is extremely concerning to find out that books explicitly depicting sexual acts are available to students in some school libraries,” Nicolaides said. “We are going to do something about this serious issue.”

The province says it discovered that graphic novels such as Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and Flamer by Mike Curato were available in schools for children as young as kindergarten age.

The content of these books has sparked outrage among parents, who claim schools are exposing children to pornography under the guise of diversity and inclusion.

One passage from Gender Queer includes a sexting exchange including discussions about oral sex and intercourse:

“I got a new strap-on harness today.”

“I can’t wait to put it in you—it will fit my favorite dildo perfectly.”

“You are going to look SO HOT.”

Another excerpt, from Flamer, includes homophobic slurs and a scene where characters joke about ejaculating into a bottle and forcing someone to drink it:

“We’re each busting a load into this bottle. If you don’t cum, you have to drink it! Hahahaha!”

Books like Fun Home and Blankets contain depictions of underage sexual exploration, molestation, and profanity, with some illustrations described as showing “zoomed-in views of pre-pubescent breasts” or naked sculptures being “licked” in art class critiques.

These revelations have prompted the government to step in. While Alberta previously offered voluntary guidelines for library materials, there was no universal enforcement.

As a result, some boards implemented loose or inconsistent vetting policies—leaving room for “graphic and age-inappropriate content” to reach young readers.

The new standards, set to be enforced by the 2025–26 school year, will apply to public, separate, Francophone, charter, and independent schools.

Boards will be required to implement these standards alongside clear, publicly available policies for evaluating and curating library collections.

The new rules will not apply to public libraries, including the 55 municipal libraries housed inside school buildings.

Albertans are now being invited to weigh in through an online survey, where they can share their views on what should be accessible in school libraries.

The government says it will use the feedback to shape its new policies—but for now, the message is clear: pornographic content is on its way out of Alberta classrooms.

Once the consultation is complete, the government plans to issue a ministerial order mandating that all school boards adopt the new standards ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

“School libraries should be a place where kids can go to learn and explore without being exposed to sexually explicit material that is clearly inappropriate for their age,” Nicolaides said.