A new measure under consideration by the Republican House majority would potentially jail publishers who distribute “sexually explicit materials” to public schools, as well as hit them with thousands of dollars in fines.
Representative Cory Mills (R-Fla.) has introduced a bill this month that seeks to amend the federal criminal code. The proposed amendment would make it illegal for a publishing house to knowingly provide sexually explicit material to an elementary school or high school. However, the term “sexually explicit material” is not clearly defined in the legislation, The Hill reported.
Publishers that violate the law by knowingly providing sexually explicit material to elementary or high schools would be subject to a maximum fine of $500,000. Additionally, individuals in higher management positions within the company could face similar fines and up to five years of imprisonment, the outlet noted.
The legislation, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill, also contains provisions that would result in the withholding of federal funds from elementary or secondary schools that distribute or obtain published materials containing sexually explicit visual depictions such as photographs or drawings. The school would only be eligible to receive federal funds again once the materials have been relinquished or destroyed.
The proposed bill would also prohibit state and local educational agencies, including school boards and boards of education, from providing schools with books, magazines, newspapers, or e-books containing sexually explicit content. However, the proposed restrictions would not apply to materials that are deemed to have “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
Mills has stated that the bill is a response to what he perceives as a coordinated effort by Democrats to “sexualize children in schools across the U.S.”
“The battlefield for the future of our society is being fought within the classrooms of American schools,” Mills said, The Hill reported.
“From school board meetings to new representation in local, state, and federal levels, Americans are waking up to the grim reality of woke indoctrination guised as a normal education,” he said. “No more.”
The Hill added:
Republicans in state legislatures across the country have also argued that children are in need of protection from a liberal agenda they say is being pushed in schools, especially as it pertains to LGBTQ issues and identities.
More than 100 state bills filed this year would limit how educators and students can talk about sexual orientation or gender identity within school walls, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
There have been other efforts to remove books from school libraries due to alleged inappropriate content. According to a report published by PEN America in September, over 1,600 books were banned in over 5,000 schools in the past year alone. Of the banned materials, over 40 percent contained LGBTQ characters or storylines. The issue of book banning in schools is often controversial, with concerns about censorship and academic freedom being weighed against concerns about inappropriate or offensive material.
“While we haven’t yet seen this particular legislation, it appears to be the latest salvo in a cross-country effort to strip away access to information in public education at every level through vague, ill-defined terminology,” said Nadine Farid Johnson, managing director of PEN America Washington and free expression programs, in a statement to The Hill.
“Publishers, teachers, and librarians use established systems to determine the material appropriate for use in schools, and constitutional parameters already exist for determining what materials are not protected by the First Amendment,” she added.
But Republicans say many of the materials being pushed mostly by far-left activists include age-inappropriate LGBTQ materials and thus need to be regulated in order to protect younger children who are not old enough physically or mentally to understand such concepts.
“Preventing pornographic materials from being taught in classrooms is completely distinct from naming freedom of expression or conversations being had across our society about gender and sexuality,” a spokesperson for Mills said. “In our view, any interpretation of this bill as an ‘assault’ on LGBT+ individuals is reading through biased lenses and are disconnected from reality.”
