Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) held a congressional hearing on Thursday about combating graphic and explicit content in school libraries, moves deemed as “book bans” by activists and some members of Congress.
Mr. Bean emphasized that efforts to monitor student reading materials are focused on preventing sexually explicit material from being freely available in school libraries.
“We’re holding this hearing to help ensure that young children are never exposed to this type of graphic content, not to further expose them to it,” he said. Mr. Bean argued media companies have “distorted the truth and fueled public outrage and discontent” over school boards reviewing books for student access, painting efforts to remove “pornographic material” from school libraries as “bans” and mere attempts to undermine discussions of race and LGBTQ+ topics and themes.
“In fact, seven of the 10 most frequently removed books feature explicit heterosexual content,” he said.
The hearing is in part a response to President Joseph Biden’s recent move in appointing Obama administration official Mathew Nosanchuk to Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Mr. Bean told The Epoch Times that the Biden administration is threatening to withhold federal funding to school districts that “ban books.”
“That’s bully tactics, we hate bullies, and we’re going to stand up to bullies,” he said.
The hearing welcomed four voices to discuss the matter—Dr. Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at Pen America; Max Eden, research fellow at American Enterprise Institute; Megan Degenfelder, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction; and Lindsey Smith, Moms for Liberty’s Chair of Montgomery County, Maryland.
Dr. Friedman, an opponent of removing books from school libraries, described these efforts as an affront to free speech.
“Today, we face an alarming attack on free expression—on the freedom to read, learn, and teach. Organized groups of activists and some politicians have launched a campaign to exert ideological control over public education—unprecedented in scope, scale, and size,” he said.
Dr. Friedman explained that Pen America believes no limitations should be placed on the materials students read, labeling it as censorship and attempts to restrict information and ideas that reflect the “identities and complexities of [students’] lives.”
Book Reviews vs. ‘Book Bans’
Mr. Eden took issue with the word “ban” and argued that unless a book is no longer accessible to students in any way—such as removing it from public libraries, book stores, and Amazon.com—it is not “banned.”Mr. Eden also cited some of the explicit sexual content displayed in many of the books being reviewed for schools, such as “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” a comic-book-style autobiography that displays the author’s personal struggles with gender as a coming-of-age story. Mr. Eden described a scene where a teen performs sex acts on an adult toy worn by another teen, which is accompanied by illustrations depicting the interaction.
The author of “Gender Queer,” Maia Kobabe, told The Washington Post earlier this year that the book is a “comic, and in full color, but that doesn’t mean it’s for children.”
“I originally wrote it for my parents and then for older teens who were already asking these questions about themselves. I don’t recommend this book for kids!”
While some have painted book review efforts as directed attacks on discussing LGBTQ+ ideas and concepts, Mr. Eden quoted an article from The Washington Post that found less than 7 percent of parent book review requests contained the words “LGBTQ+” without being accompanied by words like “sexual,” “pornographic,” or “obscene.”
“That is what this issue is really about—the provision of sexually explicit material to children by public employees. This is a question of adult judgment. Hustler has close-up genital photos, and most believe that this is not appropriate for school libraries. Romeo and Juliet has lyrical illusions to sex, and most believe this is fine for school libraries. A line must be drawn somewhere between those two points. But where, exactly?” He said.
Ms. Degenfelder argued that graphics depictions or illustrations of any kind of sexual intercourse, regardless of orientation, should not be paid for by tax-payer dollars.
“Mentioning details of [these books] feels wildly inappropriate in a congressional hearing, then why is it available to our children? Graphic and erotic images of any sexual orientation are not suitable for minor children and are a complete misuse of taxpayer dollars,” she said.
Issues of Race
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) expressed concern that removing books from school libraries would negatively impact students of color struggling to find diverse viewpoints that are representative of their own identities.
“The community I represent now was predominately of color. Now and then, the school district was significantly of color and traditional academic candidates did not reach those students. The curriculum didn’t reflect them, the books didn’t reflect them, and the subjects and characters didn’t look like the students who were going to those schools,” he said.
Mr. Grijalva said his school district’s superintendent is seeking to limit broad discussions on race and worries this will hurt students of color the most.
Mr. Eden said he searched school library card catalogs nationally and found that “The Hate U Give” is currently present in all public schools after it was removed, reviewed, and re-approved by school committees.
Mr. Bean defended the book review process.
“Removing a book from a library shelf is not akin to pouring gasoline on it and setting it ablaze. It’s not criminalizing the ownership of the book. It’s not even making them less accessible,” he said.
Finding “Banned Books” on the Shelves
Some lawmakers fear that many of the most challenged and reviewed books are slipping between the cracks.State Sen. Keith Perry, a Republican from Florida’s 8th district, was approached by a parent who made a complaint about the book “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out” in her district. She found the book on a school library shelf after hearing about its contents in the news. The parent said her personal information was leaked to the press after making a formal complaint with her local school board.
One of the six people profiled in “Beyond Magenta” described in explicit detail sex acts they engaged in at six and 11 years old with other children. The passages in question also reference non-consensual sexual intercourse between minors.
Some Florida parents are also worried about sexually explicit books making it to school library shelves.
Lauren Bush, a parent in Highlands County, went to the school board website and used a “Library Book Search” link to see if any of the books from a list made by the Florida Citizens’ Alliance were present in any nearby schools. After Ms. Bush found several of the titles listed in Highland County schools, she made a public Facebook post discussing her concerns.
According to Ms. Bush, the hyperlink in the search tool was removed two-days after her Facebook post went public. She said the text was present, but the hyperlink attached to the text was removed.
She then reached out to Highland County Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda Longshore for clarification. Dr. Longshore denied any knowledge of the incident, according to Ms. Bush. At some point after their meeting, the original hyperlink attached to the “Library Book Search” tool on the school board website was re-enabled, Ms. Bush said.
The books in question were from a list of 58 produced by Florida Citizens’ Alliance (FCA), a non-profit focused on K-12 education reform. FCA brought the list to Highland County’s attention in July 2021 and determined the district had 17 of the 58 books in circulation at the time.
One parent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was concerned that despite these efforts from FCA, the Highland County school district has yet to put the topic of reviewing books on the official agenda for a school board meeting. She wishes the book review process was being done in public to facilitate collaboration between both parents and members of the public alike.
Echoing concerns that these issues are obstacles for students and teachers, Mr. Bean said the main purpose of his hearing was to refocus efforts on what matters the most with public education.
“What we want to do is get back to the basics of having a wholesome, well-rounded education that prepares kids for either college, the workforce, or the military. That’s what we want to get back to. That’s what the American people want. Everything else is a diversion. Everything else is a red herring,” he said.
