Hi Loretta,
Congrats on your transfer. Working in a new library definitely brings new challenges and opportunities.
Based on 12 years of experience as a middle school library media specialist, unless there is a specific school district policy regarding the goals and philosophy of library services in your new school that require parent permission to access materials, I'd reconsider requiring parent permission for students to check out YA books.
As you know, one of our jobs as library media specialists is creating collections that meet the instructional and reading needs of our students -- all of our students. At the middle level, the diversity in reading and interest levels is extremely varied. I had books at the primary reading level and books at the high school reading level. In addition, materials also varied widely in interest level and maturity. I found that some YA topics were more appropriate, and more acceptable in my school community, to have in a middle school YA collection vs. a high school YA collection. For example, my school community was more accepting of some violence and some language rather than heavy sexual content and the f-bomb.
At the same time, middle school students have questions and are curious. They might have an interest in learning more about topics that they might not be comfortable discussing with family at home.
I felt that one of my missions as a library media specialist was to not only stock my collection with high quality materials to meet the instructional needs of my students but to also meet the reading needs of my students -- regardless of where they are at as readers and as young people. Middle school students are too young to drive, so one place where they had the freedom to make their own choices was in my school library. My goal was to have high quality reading material for each of my students -- but not always the same reading materials. As you know, the "right book" for one student is not necessarily "the right book" for another student.
In my time, I did have a few parents who asked why I let their child take out that book. My response is that I have 1100 student in this school and I have books for all types of readers. The right book for your student is not the right book for another student. It is up to parents to inform their students of their expectations regarding the check-out of library materials. I have no tool to ensure that students only take out materials approved by their parents. What I can control is the quality of the materials that students have to choose from. I used my professional judgment to purchase high quality materials for my students.
I hope this point of view is helpful.
Katrina