The move comes amid escalating clashes over censorship and book bans nationwide as communities debate what materials children have access to in schools.
A bill that would require “ratings” for sexual content is sponsored by Frisco Republican Rep. Jared Patterson
FILE - Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in recent weeks, Dec. 16, 2021, in Salt Lake City. Books containing “sexually explicit” content — including depictions of sexual or gender identity — would be banned from North Dakota public libraries under legislation that state lawmakers heard arguments on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023.
Schools would have to obtain parental permission before a child was granted access to “sexually relevant materials” in the library. Patterson has lambasted local schools for more than a year over books he says are inappropriate for students. He and other Republican leaders have labeled such titles -- often those related to LGBTQ themes -- as pornographic.
“This session, book vendors selling explicit content to Texas school children will be held accountable,” PattersonEfforts to rate books have been derided by free speech advocates, who are closely watching Texas’ crackdown on diverse books. Many of the books in conservatives’ crosshairs are about LGBTQ characters or center Black characters.
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