Books Save Lives Act

This Act may be cited as the Books Save Lives Act.

A covered school shall maintain a library that is staffed by a trained librarian.

Each public library receiving Federal financial assistance and each library of a covered school shall maintain a diverse collection of books, including—

(1) books written or illustrated by an individual who is a member of an underrepresented community; and

(2) books about an underrepresented community.

Proof that the exclusion of books from a covered school or library receiving Federal financial assistance has had a disparate impact on covered books shall constitute prima facie evidence of discrimination against a protected class in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), or the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.), as appropriate.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall begin the creation of a report on the effect that recent campaigns to ban books in public libraries and public schools have had on underrepresented communities.

In this Act:

The term covered book means a book or an item of educational media written by, illustrated by, or about an individual who is a member of an underrepresented community.

The term covered school means an elementary school or secondary school that is controlled or directed by a local educational agency receiving Federal financial assistance.

The terms elementary school, local educational agency, and secondary school have the meaning given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

The term underrepresented community means a group of individuals that share a common identity or characteristic, in cases in which discrimination based on such characteristic is prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), or the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.), including a group of individuals who—

(A) are members of a racial or ethnic minority group;

(B) are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or nonbinary;

(C) are members of a religious minority group; or

(D) have a disability.