California lawmakers passed a bill last week that prohibits books from being banned in public school districts for content related to gender or racial diversity, and now, the governor is expected to sign it into law.
Last Thursday, Gavin Newsom showed his support for the bill, suggesting he plans to make it law.
“California is the land of true freedom: a place where families — not political fanatics — have the freedom to decide what’s right for them,” he said. “With the passing of the law that prohibits the banning of books and ensures that all students have textbooks, our state’s Family Agenda is now stronger. All students deserve the freedom to read and learn about the truth, the world and themselves.”
The state Senate passed the bill mostly along party lines last week; in May, it had no problem passing in the Assembly.
Under the bill, school districts would be fined for banning books.
The bill, introduced and authored by House member Corey Jackson of Riverside, does not prohibit the banning of books, although it would impose fines if books are banned because they contain “inclusive and diverse perspectives.”
The bill also directly targets local school board control over the curriculum and books that will be allowed in schools.
The bill, introduced and authored by House member Corey Jackson of Riverside, does not prohibit the banning of books, although it would impose fines if books are banned because they contain “inclusive and diverse perspectives.”
Last Thursday, Gavin Newsom showed his support for the bill, suggesting he plans to make it law. JOHN G MABANGLO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Around the same time the Assembly passed the bill in May, the Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVSD) voted to reject its elementary school curriculum for mentioning Harvey Milk, an openly gay elected official in California.
In July, Newsom released a video criticizing school districts for “censoring” social studies materials simply because they mentioned Milk, adding that the state was “stepping in.”
“We’re going to buy books for these students — the same books that hundreds of thousands of kids have used. If these extremist school board members won’t do their job, we will — and fine them for their incompetence,” Newsom said.
Newsom also claimed the book was censored by the school board and that he and others were concerned about access to information.
Newly donated LGBTQ+ books are displayed in the library at Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond California after state Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond celebrated the donation of the books to 234 elementary schools.Getty Images
Dr. Joseph Komrosky, president of the TVSD Board of Education, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the board did not “ban” textbooks, rather, they chose not to adopt the new curriculum and additional textbook materials that included milk.
But that’s just one of several objections, Komrosky said.
“But what the Governor ignored was that members of the Board of Education expressed other important concerns about the District’s process, including whether it had involved the community sufficiently on the use of the curriculum, as well as whether the proposed curriculum adequately met the needs. English language learners and special education students,” Komrosky said at the time.
Dr. Joseph Komrosky, president of the TVSD Board of Education, said that the board did not “ban” textbooks, rather, they chose not to adopt the new curriculum and additional textbook materials that include Milk.X / @JosephKomrosky
Still, Newsom threatened to fine TVSD $1.5 million, and the board eventually adopted the curriculum.
Jackson’s bill threatens financial penalties against school boards that limit access to classroom and library materials because they feature LGBTQ people or are written by LGBTQ authors, the bill reads, “discriminating against LGBTQ people and constitutes unlawful censorship and California policy.”
The bill goes on to say, “efforts to exclude topics related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics, or current or historical discrimination based on protected characteristics, from school library collections, curriculum or classroom discussion. constitute censorship in violation of California law and policy.”
Jackson’s bill threatens financial penalties against school boards that block access to classroom and library materials because they feature LGBTQ people or are written by LGBTQ authors, the bill reads, “discriminating against LGBTQ people and constituting unlawful censorship and California policy.” Getty Images
This comes after a newly released report revealed that nearly 1,500 books were banned in the first half of the 2022-2023 school year.
According to the PEN America Index School Book Bans list, there were 1,477 instances of individual books being banned in the first half of the 2022-23 school year.
PEN America recorded more book bans during the fall 2022 semester than in each of the previous two semesters.
According to the PEN America Index School Book Bans list, there were 1,477 instances of individual books being banned in the first half of the 2022-23 school year. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
PEN America also reports that 30% of the banned “unique titles” are books about race, ethnicity or color.
They also found that 26% of unique banned titles had LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
PEN America claims that they have tracked book banning efforts over the past two years by documenting the growth of groups supporting book bans, widespread challenges to the book across the country, efforts at the local level such as school district policies and procedures, and state level policies.
The issue of book bans has been rampant in red states like Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina, where it has been dealt with by local school boards.
Joshua Q. Nelson of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
