I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6830 

To require certain libraries to maintain a diverse collection of books, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 14, 2023 

Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. BROWN, Mr. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. 

HORSFORD, Mr. IVEY, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 

KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. 

MCBATH, Mr. MFUME, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, 

Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PLASKETT, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. TLAIB, 

Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Ms. WATERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require certain libraries to maintain a diverse collection 

of books, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Books Save Lives 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ACCESS TO LIBRARIES AND DIVERSE BOOKS. 

2 (a) ACCESS TO SCHOOL LIBRARIES.—A covered 

3 school shall maintain a library that is staffed by a trained 

4 librarian. 

5 (b) LIBRARY BOOK SELECTION.—Each public library 

6 receiving Federal financial assistance and each library of 

7 a covered school shall maintain a diverse collection of 

8 books, including— 

9 (1) books written or illustrated by an individual 

10 who is a member of an underrepresented community; 

11 and 

12 (2) books about an underrepresented commu13 nity. 

14 (c) CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT.—Proof that the 

15 exclusion of books from a covered school or library receiv16 ing Federal financial assistance has had a disparate im17 pact on covered books shall constitute prima facie evidence 

18 of discrimination against a protected class in violation of 

19 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), 

20 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

21 12101 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

22 701 et seq.), or the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 

23 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.), as appropriate. 

24 SEC. 3. REPORT ON BOOK BAN CAMPAIGNS. 

25 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact26 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 


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1 States shall begin the creation of a report on the effect 

2 that recent campaigns to ban books in public libraries and 

3 public schools have had on underrepresented communities. 

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) COVERED BOOK.—The term ‘‘covered book’’ 

7 means a book or an item of educational media writ8 ten by, illustrated by, or about an individual who is 

9 a member of an underrepresented community. 

10 (2) COVERED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘covered 

11 school’’ means an elementary school or secondary 

12 school that is controlled or directed by a local edu13 cational agency receiving Federal financial assist14 ance. 

15 (3) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, LOCAL EDU16 CATIONAL AGENCY, AND SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The 

17 terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local educational agen18 cy’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the meaning given 

19 the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

21 (4) UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITY.—The 

22 term ‘‘underrepresented community’’ means a group 

23 of individuals that share a common identity or char24 acteristic, in cases in which discrimination based on 

25 such characteristic is prohibited by the Civil Rights 


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1 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), the Ameri2 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 

3 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

4 701 et seq.), or the Education Amendments of 1972 

5 (20 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.), including a group of indi6 viduals who— 

7 (A) are members of a racial or ethnic mi8 nority group; 

9 (B) are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, 

10 queer, intersex, or nonbinary; 

11 (C) are members of a religious minority 

12 group; or 

13 (D) have a disability. 

Æ 


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