Under the bill, schools and librarians could no longer argue, as a legal defense, that the texts have “educational” value, just their literary, artistic, political or scientific merit.
and had come up in various other bills this session. It was added Thursday to a House bill related to student assessments and received quick approval from the House and Senate. The bill now heads to to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Those who supported the legislation expressed concern that sexually inappropriate or “pornographic” materials are available to children. Critics, however, said the legislation could open the door to banning books simply because some people don’t like the topics, as well as criminal prosecutions of educators for providing such books.
“Do we really want some parents choosing books for what other kids are reading or not reading?” Democratic Sen. J.D. Ford, the state’s only openly gay legislator, said Thursday. “I still think it’s a slippery slope.”“I hope that as this plays out, people will realize that,” she told The Associated Press.
Democratic Rep. Renee Pack spoke to lawmakers about her daughter, Leah Johnson, whose book “You Should See Me In A Crown” was“Why, Leah, do you write these books?” Pack said she asked her daughter, whose book is about a Black girl who falls for her competition for prom queen. Pack said her daughter’s response was that “it was horrible and confusing, growing up and not seeing me and who I was represented in literature. So this is my way of letting young people know you are not alone, no matter what anybody tells you.”
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