Since 2022, several states have passed new legislation that is responsible for a number of these more recent book bans. These laws, written by career politicians with no education or experience in teaching or library science, are often vaguely written and come with harsh penalties. Interested in learning more? Keep reading for a summary of some of these new laws.
Florida
HB 1557: Parental Rights in Education
Also known as the Don’t Say Gay bill, this bill states that “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
Although the DeSantis administration has stated in court that this provision is not meant to apply to school libraries, only classroom instruction, teachers and librarians are being given other advice. Given the vagueness of the law, librarians are pulling books from library shelves out of an abundance of caution.
So, what books have been pulled from school libraries under this law? Popular–and decidedly non-sexual—picture books like And Tango Makes Three, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, In Our Mother’s House, 10,000 Dresses, I Am Jazz, and Jacob’s New Dress.
HB 7: Individual Freedom
HB 7 effectively bans teaching about systemic racism as well as gender and race discrimination. This appears to be an attempt to avoid uncomfortable truths about the roles racism, oppression, and gender discrimination have played, and continue to play, in our country’s history and culture.
HB 1467: K-12 Education
Per HB1467, “Each elementary school must publish on its website, in a searchable format prescribed by the department, a list of all materials maintained in the school library media center or required as part of a school or grade-level reading list, including those used to provide instruction.”
Cataloging classroom libraries, which may contain anywhere from a handful of books to thousands, is a complex task that teachers cannot physically complete given the demands on their time during the workday. Since the task cannot be finished, many teachers have chosen to simply remove their classroom libraries to avoid the chance of someone’s child running across a contraband copy of And Tango Makes Three and losing their license as a result.
Georgia
SB 226: Complaint Resolution Process
The complaint resolution process requires that complaints be submitted in writing to the principal of the school; that the school principal reviews the complaint within seven days and takes reasonable steps to investigate the allegations in the complaint, including, but not limited to, reading the book in question; the school principal shall determine whether the material is harmful to minors; and finally, the principal shall determine whether access to the book shall be removed or restricted.
Giving one person the responsibility of determining what materials meet the state’s definition of harmful to minors is, at best, a questionable strategy. Giving that one person seven business days to read said material on top of normal business duties and be able to immediately make a ruling is deliberately sabotaging the process.
Idaho
HB 710: The Children’s School and Library Protection Act
HB 710 allows children or their parents to file a legal claim against a public or school library if they obtain materials deemed harmful to minors. A legal claim can be filed if libraries do not move materials to a designated adults-only section within 60 days of a request. The bill relies on Idaho’s existing definition of materials harmful to minors, which includes “any act of … homosexuality” under its definition of sexual conduct. The bill is set to go into effect July 1, 2024.
Iowa
SF 496: An Act Relating to Children and Students
SF 496 contains two provisions that relate to the censorship of materials. The first: “A school district shall not provide any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through grade six.” The other part of the law states that “Each school district shall establish a kindergarten through grade twelve library program that is consistent with section 280.6 and with the educational standards established in this section, contains only age-appropriate materials, and supports the student achievement goals of the total school curriculum.”
Missouri
SB 775: Offense of Providing Explicit Sexual Material to a Student
“This act provides that a person commits the offense of providing explicit sexual material to a student if such person is affiliated with a public or private elementary or secondary school in an official capacity and, knowing of its content and character, such person provides, assigns, supplies, distributes, loans, or coerces acceptance of or the approval of the providing of explicit sexual material to a student or possesses with the purpose of providing, assigning, supplying, distributing, loaning, or coercing acceptance of or the approval of the providing of explicit sexual material to a student. This offense is a Class A misdemeanor.”
Predictably, Missouri’s definition of “explicit sexual material” is overly broad, banning any visual depiction of a variety of acts. Many schools have implemented sweeping book bans in reaction to the law, citing a fear of accidentally running afoul of the law and a desire to avoid misdemeanor charges.
So, what books have been pulled from school libraries under this law? The Bluest Eye, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Forever… All undeniably not porn.
Tennessee
SB 2407: Age Appropriate Materials Act
“Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, each school operated by an LEA and each public charter school shall maintain a current list of the materials in the school’s library collection. The list must be posted on the school’s website.” After school districts asked for additional clarification on the definition of “library collection,” the state made it clear that any book within the school needed to be catalogued, regardless of location.
The result? A chilling effect, as teachers removed classroom libraries to avoid punishment.
Utah
HB 374: Sensitive Materials in Schools
This bill “prohibits sensitive materials in public schools.”
What are sensitive materials? “Sensitive material” means an instructional material that is pornographic or indecent material as that term is defined in Section 76-10-1235. What does Section 76-10-1235 say? “Pornographic or indecent material” means any material defined as harmful to minors, described as pornographic in Section 76-10-1203, or described in Section 76-10-1227.
What does the State of Utah consider to be harmful to minors? Any description or representation, in whatsoever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse when it:
- a. taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex of minors;
- b. is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors; and
- c. taken as a whole, does not have serious value for minors.
Interestingly enough, Section 76-10-1203 uses The Miller Test to define pornography.
Finally, Section 76-10-1226 clarifies that any description or depiction of illicit sex or sexual immorality NEVER has serious value to minors. This includes any description or depiction of: human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal; acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse, or sodomy; and fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals or pubic region. For some reason, a description or depiction of fondling or other erotic touching of the human buttock or female breast is not deemed to have no serious value to minors.
So, what books have been pulled from school libraries under this law? The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, American Gods, and Milk and Honey. A book about the Holocaust has no serious value to minors? That’s an interesting take, Utah.
There is hope! One state is leading the way in protecting the right to read.
Illinois
HB 2789: An Act Concerning Local Government
Illinois has taken a different approach when it comes to protecting intellectual freedom by withholding State funding for libraries that allow book bans.
“It is further declared to be the policy of the State to encourage and protect the freedom of libraries and library systems to acquire materials without external limitation and to be protected against attempts to ban, remove, or otherwise restrict access to books or other materials.”
“In order to be eligible for State grants, a library or library system shall adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights that indicates materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval or, in the alternative, develop a written statement prohibiting the practice of banning books or other materials within the library or library system.”
There are several state bills relating to reading material that are still alive this legislative session. This list will be updated if and when more are passed in to law.