EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that her government is revising a ministerial order that directed school divisions to ban books with sexually explicit content. The revision aims to ensure that classic literature remains available in school libraries.

Smith stated that the updated order will specifically target books that contain images of sexual content. The original directive included a broader range of materials, encompassing written passages, illustrations, and audio that featured sexually explicit content.

In response to the initial order, Edmonton's public school division compiled a list of over 200 books to be removed from its libraries. This list included notable works such as Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale."

Smith emphasized that the government's order had been misunderstood by the school division. She assured that the changes would allow classic books to remain accessible to students.

In a related development, Alberta's education minister sent an email to school divisions earlier, instructing them to halt any actions taken to comply with the original order until further notice.

The province has not yet provided a timeline for when the revised order will be issued.