Legislative Efforts to Give Parents More Say Over the Books Available to Their Children

Across Pennsylvania, some schools have an “opt-in” policy, where parents have to give permission to allow their children to be exposed to sexually explicit content. However, many schools allow children to be exposed to sexually explicit unless parents “opt out” their child to prevent this from happening. As a step in the right direction, legislation has been introduced to mandate all schools across Pennsylvania adopt an “opt-in” policy.

House Bill 1659, introduced by Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) and Senate Bill 7, introduced by Sen. Ryan Aument (R-Lancaster), would:

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Identify sexually explicit content in school curriculum, materials and books.

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Create an opt-in policy that would:

	o	Notify parents of the sexually explicit content by including a list of the book titles on the form.
	o	Give parents the opportunity to review the materials.
	o	Require parents to give direct consent for their children to be provided or have access to sexually explicit content.

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Provide the child with non-explicit alternatives if their parents do not opt in.

Neither bill would ban any books from any Pennsylvania schools or libraries.

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