MA legislators want to make it nearly impossible to remove pornographic material from K-12 public school libraries and give woke activist school librarians more power.
Senators Julian Cyr (D-Truro) and John Francis Moran (D-Suffolk) filed the deceptively named bills, “An Act regarding free expression“ HB4229/SB2528, because they want to allow school librarians to keep vulgar, sexually explicit books on the shelves of public school libraries, where minor students can access them. That’s why we’ve dubbed these bills the Pornographic Schoolbook Bills.
Under the guise of preventing “book banning,” radical legislators want to stop local school committees from protecting children from age-inappropriate content at school.
A hearing for these dangerous bills is scheduled for Wednesday, January 10th, from 1:00 – 3:00 PM in Room A-2 at the State House in Boston. The deadline to register to testify is Monday, January 8th by 3:00 PM.
To register to testify in person or virtually click the button below.
Written testimony may also be submitted by email.
For complete information on testifying on these bills and on how to submit written testimony visit the State House website >>> here.
If passed these bills would:
- Prevent a school committee from removing an explicit book from a library unless the book is “devoid of any educational, literary, artistic or social value or is not age appropriate for any children who attend the school.” This means that if a book could conceivably be deemed appropriate for the most mature high school senior, it must be kept in the school library. This subjectively worded standard sets no real limit on what material can be in school libraries; everything would be fair game.
- Force a one-size-fits-all policy created by the State onto all school districts in Massachusetts. This new policy would give almost unlimited discretion to school librarians to decide which books are age-appropriate for students and impose a cumbersome review process if a school committee disagrees with a librarian’s decision.
- Give people a right to sue their school if they disagree with a school’s decision to remove an explicit book. This shocking provision shows just how radical these bills are.
When parents petition school committees to remove pornographic books from a taxpayer-funded public school library, they are not “banning books,” since those same books are widely available elsewhere. These pornographic schoolbook bills are based on a false premise and represent a dangerous attack on local school control, parental rights, and the innocence of children.
Parents, through the elected school committee members who represent them, should have the ultimate say on what content is appropriate for their children. But these bills would tie their hands. Learn more about these radical bills by reading our legislative brief.
Please speak up against these Pornographic Schoolbook Bills that will harm MA students and violate parents‘ rights. Register to testify at the hearing.
And then contact your legislators right away and ask them to oppose these radical bills. Visit our Take Action Center to contact your legislators.
Please, click the button below and take 30 seconds to send your legislators a message to ask them to oppose the Pornographic Schoolbook Bills.
This legislation must be stopped!
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