KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo Public Schools will speed up efforts to get LGBTQ-friendly books into classrooms, but it will take them longer to draft a resolution on social justice.
Board Vice Chair Tianna Harrison says after their first committee meeting on the subject, they decided they need more training from an outside expert on diversity.
“We only seek to make you aware that we do believe in inclusiveness, and I mean that,” said Harrison.
They hoped to have a resolution ready by next month, but now they say it may take longer.
Kalamazoo schools have been installing what they call “Diverse Libraries” at many of their schools to make sure that the topics covered match the make-up of the student body.
However, the issue flared up when members of the LGBTQ community complained about access to books that positively reflect gender diversity.
Trustee Ken Greschak says they won’t wait to address those complaints. “I think the district is going to accelerate the process by which LGBTQ books are added to classroom libraries…that committees are going to be assembled,” Greschak stated.
In the meantime, they say they already have a number of books with diverse characters in their school libraries but will now work to include them in classrooms.
KPS released a statement in December reiterating that “Every KPS school building has a library. The district library program includes 12 LGBTQ+ titles in its elementary school libraries, almost 60 at the middle schools, and more than 250 in its high school libraries. In addition, library staff have been trained on how to work with these materials and to assist students.”
(John McNeill contributed to this report.)
