School system stops using digital library over content concerns
Cleveland County Schools is no longer offering two digital library services to students in the county over issues with the content of some of the books.
NC Kids Digital Library and Epic! are no longer available as resources to students in the county.
Greg Shull, spokesman for the school system, said there are other, more age-appropriate options for students.
"Cleveland County Schools has an extensive library system encompassing various media types for educational use," he wrote in an email to The Star. "While we acknowledge the value of the resources you have highlighted as free alternatives, we firmly believe that our internally curated and vetted resources offer more age-appropriate options for our students, ensuring a safe, conducive learning environment. "
NC Kids Digital Library is a digital library of books designed for ages pre-K through fourth grade with topics that range from history, sports, dinosaurs, mysteries, nature and more. Popular series include Pete the Cat books, Paddington Bear, Pinkalicious and more.
According to the website, NC Kids Digital Library offers e-books, audiobooks, streaming videos and Read-Alongs. The collection includes picture books, youth fiction, youth non-fiction and more. Browsing can be done by subject, format or genre, and the advanced search feature allows filtering by availability, language, date added and other options.
Epic! also has a digital library of more than 40,000 books. According to the website, it is an American kids subscription-based reading and learning platform that offers access to books and videos for children ages 12 and under.
In an email to principals that was sent out March 19, Superintendent Stephen Fisher notified all principals that the two educational sites had been restricted.
"We are reaching out to inform you that, in compliance with § 115C-76.55 of the North Carolina General Statutes, our school district is required to adhere to specific guidelines regarding age-appropriate instruction for grades kindergarten through fourth grade," Fisher wrote. "Per this statute, instruction or access to supplemental material on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality is prohibited in the curriculum provided for these grade levels."
He said upon thorough review, it came to the attention of the school system that the website, NC Kids Digital Library and Epic!, contain content that may not align with the statute.
"Consequently, access to these sites has been restricted within our school district for students, as well as the ability to use a school provided email address to login off network," Fisher said. "All students will be impacted by network restrictions and K-8 students will not be able to access the external site even with a school system email.
"Please understand this decision is a necessary step to ensure compliance with legal requirements and to maintain a safe and appropriate learning environment for our students."
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also recently made the same decision to discontinue the use of Epic!
An email to Cleveland County Board of Education Chairman Robert Queen was not returned in time for this story.
Reach reporter Rebecca Sitzes at rsitzes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: School system stops using digital library over content concerns
