Earlier this year, a school board in Maryland voted to implement a policy that will restrict students’ access to sexually explicit books at school. This followed in the footsteps of school boards across the country that implemented policies to protect children from this kind of content in schools.
This school board is not the only one to take a stand to remove inappropriate books from schools. However, left-wing activists and politicians, however, have pushed back against policies like this.
This week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed a law prohibiting “book banning” in libraries and schools in the state.
“The Freedom to Read Act cements New Jersey’s role on the forefront of preventing book bans and protecting the intellectual freedom of our educators and students. Across the nation, we have seen attempts to suppress and censor the stories and experiences of others. I’m proud to amplify the voices of our past and present, as there is no better way for our children to prepare for the future than to read freely,” Murphy said in a statement.
Reportedly, New Jersey follows the lead of Minnesota and Illinois when it comes to outlawing book bans (via The Hill):
The law says school boards and the governing boards of public libraries need to create standards for how books are removed from shelves and how complaints are addressed.
Books will not be allowed to be removed based on “the origin, background, or views of the material or of its authors,” nor can books be censored based “on a disagreement with a viewpoint, idea, or concept, or solely because an individual finds certain content offensive, unless they are restricting access to developmentally inappropriate material for certain age groups.”
The governor is also providing legal protections for librarians from civil or criminal lawsuits around book banning.
In Florida, lawmakers took the complete opposite approach. A new state law resulted in more than 700 books being removed or discontinued from schools this past year, as Townhall covered.
In a statement to the Associated Press, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education explained that there are no books being banned in Florida. They stated that this is part of the state’s push to remove “sexually explicit materials” from schools.
“There are no books banned in Florida and sexually explicit materials do not belong in schools. Once again, far left activists are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians. The better question is why do these activists continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit materials,” spokesperson Sydney Booker said.
“The better question is, why do these groups continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit materials?” Booker added.