Rockwood School District Removes 22 Books Following SB 775 Implementation

News

Sep 1

On August 28, 2022—the date Missouri Senate Bill 775 went into effect—the Rockwood School District removed 22 books from its library collections following an internal review.

SB 775 established restrictions related to the provision of “explicit sexual material” to students under Missouri Revised Statute §573.550. In response to the law’s enactment, district librarians and curriculum administrators reviewed library holdings to assess compliance.

Rockwood School District shared the following statement with KSDK:

The Rockwood School District closely follows any changes in state and federal legislation to ensure compliance with all applicable statutes. Missouri Senate Bill 775 went into effect Aug. 28 and establishes guidelines related to providing "explicit sexual material" to a student.
Rockwood librarians and administrators in our curriculum department carefully reviewed our collections in light of the new legislation and consulted with our legal team to identify books with images that may meet the definition of “explicit sexual material” under Section 573.550, RSMo. Those books have been removed from circulation, and the list has been posted on the district website to ensure transparency with all stakeholders.
Rockwood’s compliance with the state statute does not change our vision to provide a wide range of reading materials to meet the needs of all students and our goal of universal equity, opportunity and access outlined in our strategic plan, The Way Forward. Our libraries hold more than 450,000 titles for students to choose from in grades K-12, and we will continue to ensure that all students are represented in our library collections.

The removal marked one of the earliest district-level responses to SB 775 within Missouri. While some districts interpreted and applied the law differently, Rockwood publicly identified the affected titles and posted the list online.

The action became part of the broader statewide adjustment period following the law’s implementation, as districts reviewed their collections and navigated compliance requirements under the new statute.

Images from Removed Books

These books were only removed from the Rockwood School District due to the passage of SB 775. For instance, Gender Queer was challenged and appealed, yet it remained in the district until August 28, 2022. The full list of removed books is shown below.