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"Protecting Kids: Combating Graphic, Explicit Content in School Libraries" — Transcript

by Committee on Education & Workforce Democrats · 9,945 words · 1,505 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00MERS of Congress and it's certainly
0:01inappropriate for young children as such
0:03the committee recommends anyone with
0:04small children in the audience or if
0:07you're watching on C-Span or if this is
0:10a tape recording you're watching it you
0:12just want to reconsider young people
0:14watching this meeting additionally uh
0:16children should not watch at home we're
0:17holding this hearing to help ensure that
0:19young children are never exposed to this
0:21type of graphic content not to further
0:24expose them to it with that warning out
0:25of the way welcome we're glad to have
0:27you here we got some great Witnesses
0:28I've met with some of you this morning I
0:30think we're going to have a great chat a
0:31great discussion as we go forward on
0:34this hearing like every flasho in
0:35America's culture War the media has
0:37distorted the truth and fueled public
0:41outrage and discontent today this
0:43committee will set the record straight
0:44with the American people in appropriate
0:46books in school libraries and local
0:49communities are within their right to
0:52remove them uh some of my colleagues on
0:57the other side of the aisle will in
0:58inevitably accus Republicans of engaging
1:01in Wild spread campaign to ban books
1:05you'll hear that uh term today ban books
1:07what does that mean and uh what are we
1:11doing to band books because of uh animus
1:14or prejudice against LGBT students
1:18however the evidence suggests books are
1:19being removed for no other reason than
1:22it's just inappropriate it's explicit
1:25content uh in fact seven of the 10 most
1:27frequently removed books EX feature
1:30explicit
1:32heterosexual content Additionally the
1:34LGBT books are being challenged by
1:37parents such as Lawnboy and gender queer
1:40they're so sexually explicit that their
1:43respective authors have advised that
1:45nobody below a teenager is ready for
1:49these books I don't recommend this book
1:51to kids that's what the author has said
1:53these books are so obscene that reciting
1:55more passages these passages mere
1:57passages has gotten adults censored in
2:00adult
2:01forums School Board officials in Clay
2:03County Florida had to cut a microphone a
2:06father who was talking about reading
2:07from the book that his daughter had
2:09access to uh for reading lucky for fear
2:13the explicit passages was violate the
2:15FCC laws regarding since the school
2:18board meeting was being televised late
2:20night television refused to Air and AD
2:22featuring
2:23language from gender queer if these
2:27books are too inappropriate for adults
2:29and they are certainly inappropriate for
2:31children the committee will ask
2:34ourselves today do do communities have
2:36the right to remove inappropriate
2:38content from library
2:41shelves of course they do school boards
2:43communities and parents constantly set
2:45standards of decency but removing a book
2:48from a library shelf is not akin to P
2:50pouring gasoline on it and setting it a
2:52blaze it's not criminalizing the
2:54ownership of the book it's not even
2:56making them less accessible if you can
2:58check out a book from a public Public
3:00Library it's not banned uh if you can
3:02order a book from Amazon and have it
3:04delivered to your home uh the next day
3:06it's not banned in fact the most removed
3:09books are still wildly popular on Amazon
3:12age appropriate content moderation by
3:13local school officials in the districts
3:16is is a right deeply ingrained in the
3:19principles of localism and federalism
3:21federalizing the book review process by
3:24putting in the hands of DC bureaucrats
3:26thereby by taking parents out of the
3:27equation would be the worst possible
3:29solution yet that's exactly what the
3:31Biden Administration is doing President
3:34Biden appointed a book review Zar to
3:37monitor the actions of local school
3:39boards and potentially penalize them for
3:41simply reviewing books I see this as a
3:44dangerous step in a violation of
3:45federalist principles today's hearing
3:47should not be about creating more
3:48bureaucrats or more laws or scoring
3:50cheap political points but how to best
3:52Empower parents to be the greatest
3:55possible advocate for their child's
3:57education my final appeal goes to parent
3:59parents keep demanding that your school
4:01board reflect the values of your
4:03communities keep involving yourself in
4:05your children's education and most
4:07importantly keep doing what's best for
4:09your kids with that I yield to the
4:10ranking member for her opening statement
4:13uh thank you chair bean and thank you to
4:14our Witnesses more than seven months ago
4:16our Republican colleagues sat in this
4:18hearing room and vehemently denied any
4:19interest in addressing the Banning of
4:21books then House Republicans passed a
4:23bill they said was about parental rights
4:25but in fact should be called the
4:26politics over parents act because it is
4:28essentially a blueprint for book Banning
4:31now today the majority is holding a
4:33hearing specifically about what books
4:35should or should not be allowed in
4:36school libraries and I'll note that this
4:38is the US Congress not a Schoolboard
4:40meeting sadly this farri conservative
4:42movement is having a profound real life
4:45effect on children on Educators and
4:47importantly on school librarians
4:49research shows that of as of 2021 more
4:52than 4 million students had their
4:54freedom to read curtailed because of
4:56book bands that includes students across
4:58more than 5,000 schools 138 school
5:01districts and 32 states specifically pen
5:04America found that 41% of ban contact
5:07content focuses on lgbtqi plus themes
5:11protagonists or characters 40% focuses
5:13on characters of color rates of teachers
5:16citing burnout and what they feel are
5:18unsafe working conditions as a reason
5:20for leaving the profession have
5:21skyrocketed at least seven states have
5:24passed Draconian laws in the past two
5:26years subjecting school librarians to
5:29year of imprisonment and fines for
5:31providing books deemed to be explicit
5:33obscene or harmful that's incarceration
5:37these censorship laws are being enacted
5:39by extreme Mega politicians under the
5:41pretext of parental rights when in
5:42reality it's a coordinated and
5:44apparently well-funded vocal minority of
5:46parents and conservative organizations
5:48pushing their personal agenda on others
5:51we can all agree that books and school
5:54library should be age appropriate and we
5:56all used to agree that the federal
5:57government should not dictate School
5:59curricula or what books are in school
6:01libraries regrettably it seems that my
6:04Republican colleagues have abandoned
6:05these previously shared values although
6:08I do note that superintendent Dean
6:10Felder expressly says in her testimony
6:13so how do we solve this issue it
6:14certainly should not be up to the
6:16federal government a book's age
6:18appropriateness and its ability to tell
6:20challenging culturally significant
6:22stories representing diverse
6:23perspectives those are not mutually
6:25exclusive for example the hate you give
6:27is a powerful novel taught and middle
6:29and high schools about a young black
6:31girl who finds her voice and stands up
6:33for racial justice as she grapples with
6:35the trauma of witnessing her friend
6:38being murdered by police officers this
6:40important book elevates Black voices and
6:42centers a historic civil rights struggle
6:44but it's been challenged by Republican
6:46officials and parents in at least four
6:48states I want to remind my colleagues
6:50that it is students who are most
6:51affected by these policies in 1982 a
6:54group of students stood up for their
6:56rights and they challenged the
6:57constitutionality of book bands the case
7:00the Board of Education island tree Union
7:02Free School District number 26 versus
7:04Pico went to the US Supreme Court which
7:07considered whether a local school
7:09board's decision to prohibit certain
7:10books from its Junior High and high
7:12school libraries because of their
7:14content violated the First Amendment
7:15Free Speech safeguards the court decided
7:18that local school boards may not remove
7:21books from school library shelves simply
7:24because they dislike the idea contained
7:25in those books I'm concerned that my
7:27colleagues are waging these culture wars
7:29in part to undermine our public
7:31education system and to try to justify
7:33defunding public schools and libraries
7:35preferring instead to funnel public
7:37dollars into lowquality private voucher
7:39programs and we've seen that before
7:42thankfully under President Biden's
7:43leadership the Department of Education
7:45is using its legal Authority Under the
7:47Civil Rights Act to fight book bans in
7:48schools including in Texas and Georgia
7:51and is working to protect those right
7:53civil rights of students well we don't
7:55have students testifying today Mr
7:56chairman but their voices should be
7:58heard and so I'm just going to share
7:59just a few and these are students from
8:01across the country is from a New York
8:03Times article last year titled what
8:05students are saying about banning books
8:07from school libraries Dia who's from
8:09Arkansas said hiding away things that
8:11make us uncomfortable doesn't make them
8:13go away even if we don't talk about it
8:15racism sexual assault genocide and many
8:18other complex issues will still exist we
8:20have to face the discomfort to keep it
8:22from happening again while those
8:24supporting the book Banning movement
8:26claim that it's an issue of parental
8:27rights it's really an issue of people
8:29trying to ban things that make them
8:31uncomfortable Jason a student from Maine
8:34said as a teenager I'm still trying to
8:36find my way into this world and I want
8:38to know as many other viewpoints as
8:40possible so I know my thoughts are my
8:42own and not just a product of a limited
8:44amount of information trying to force a
8:46community to get rid of a book as a way
8:48of forcing one's beliefs on the entire
8:50community and Jordan from Norwood High
8:53School said reading the article about
8:55book Banning and these comments just
8:57makes me think gez the fact that these
8:58books are being challenged shows how
9:01much some people need education on the
9:03subjects in them finally the Democrats
9:05on this sub subcommittee will continue
9:07to reiterate our Focus during each
9:09hearing this Congress let's work
9:12together on important issues that will
9:13help our students succeed according to
9:16the American Library Association two and
9:18a half million students Nationwide are
9:21enrolled in school districts where there
9:22are no school libraries at a time when
9:25many students are not proficient in
9:27reading and still struggling with
9:29literacy we should focus on supporting
9:31Librarians and Educators and their work
9:33to help every student read and feel safe
9:35and welcome in their school thank you Mr
9:37chairman and I look forward to the
9:39discussion thank you ranking member
9:40banamichi uh pursuant to committee role
9:428C all committee members who wish to
9:44insert written statements into the file
9:45may do so by submitting them to the
9:46committee clerk electronically in word
9:48format by 5:00 p.m. after uh 14 days
9:51from the date of this hearing which is
9:52November 2nd 2023 and without objection
9:55the hearing record will remain open for
9:5714 days after the day of this hearing to
9:58allow statements and other extal ranous
10:02materials referen during the hearing to
10:03be submitted for the official hearing
10:05record I note for the record that the
10:06subcommittee from uh my colleague from
10:08Pennsylvania Mr smucker waves on to the
10:11subcommittee for the purposes of today's
10:14hearing ladies and gentlemen we've got
10:16an All-Star panel we went across the
10:18nation to find uh some minds and
10:21opinions that could bring uh light on
10:24this subject so to help me introduce our
10:26Allstar panel our first will yield to
10:28the G man from Utah uh Mr Owens it's
10:32Miss Miller Miss Miller from Illinois
10:35Miss Miller Miss Mary
10:37Miller thank you it's my honor to
10:40introduce Mrs Lindsay Smith Mrs Smith is
10:44the Montgomery County Maryland chapter
10:46chair for moms for Liberty she worked as
10:49a nurse for 15 years until two years ago
10:52when she became a full time at home mom
10:55she is the mother of four author of two
10:57books 45 days of a prayer and daughter
10:59of the king and she is usually found on
11:02a sporting field supporting her kids
11:05thank you so much for the work you're
11:06doing and for being our witness ranking
11:10member mamichi also would like to
11:12introduce a Allstar panelist Dr johathan
11:15fredman is a director of free expression
11:17and education programs at Pan America he
11:19oversees research advocacy and education
11:22related to academic freedom educational
11:24gag orders book bands and general free
11:27expression in schools colleges and
11:29universities Dr fredman was a 2019 2020
11:32fellow of the University of California's
11:34National Center for free speech and
11:36Civic engagement he holds an Ma and PhD
11:39in intern International Education from
11:42NYU thank you so much our third panelist
11:45is Mr Max Eden he's a research fellow at
11:48the American Enterprise Institute right
11:50here in Washington DC Mr Eden is a
11:52research fellow and at the American uh
11:55Enterprise Institute where he focuses on
11:57education form specifically K through2
12:00and early childhood education before
12:02joining AI he was a senior fellow at the
12:05Manhattan Institute in addition to a
12:07number of reports and studies on
12:08education Mr Eden is the co-author here
12:11he goes there there's so many uh Wall
12:13Street Journal USA uh today bestseller
12:16why Meadow died the people and policies
12:19that created the Parkland shooter and
12:21endanger Americans students he has been
12:23published in policy journals and the
12:25popular press including the hill The
12:27Washington Post and USA Today uh welcome
12:29Mr Max Eden and finally our Final
12:32witness will now go to Mr Burgess ens
12:35the gentleman from
12:38Utah got it uh let me do this uh if it's
12:41okay and I'm sorry I didn't coordinate
12:43with you but our final panelist is
12:47um is Megan uh she's the superintendent
12:51from uh from
12:53Wyoming and I met with her earlier she
12:56has the uh the state that is walking in
13:00in
13:01Wyoming yeah uh Burgess you got the full
13:04story let's go back to the gentleman
13:05from
13:06Utah sorry about that guys sry uh M uh
13:10Megan
13:12defer def defen Felder uh superintendent
13:15Wyoming Department of Education U uh in
13:18cyen Wyoming Miss Megan uh Megan is is
13:22elected to the Wyoming state
13:23superintendent of of Public Instruction
13:26in November 2022 making one of the the
13:28youngest elected statewise officials in
13:30Wyoming uh history Megan grew up in a
13:33sixth generation ranching family and
13:35chasper um and graduated from the
13:38University of Wyoming Megan served as a
13:40chief policy officer at the Wyoming
13:41Department of Education under
13:43superintendent Julian B balar she
13:46oversaw multiple divisions including
13:48standards and assessments accountability
13:50and hathway scholarship as well as30
13:53million budget and a 25 person staff
13:57Megan also comes from years of private
13:59sector experience in the fields of coal
14:01and gas um oil and gas where she's
14:04worked to lessen regulation burdens uh
14:06and government overreach welcome W Meg
14:09welcome uh Miss Smith and thank you uh
14:12uh Mr Owens I talked to some of you
14:14about the five minute rule there'll be a
14:15clock five minutes is uh if you hear
14:17this that means try to wrap it up Dr
14:19freedan welcome I didn't get a chance to
14:21talk to you but you're familiar with our
14:22five minute rule let's go ahead and get
14:24the testimony Miss Smith you are uh
14:26first of all welcome to the committee
14:27you're recognized for five
14:29minutes thanks chairman Bean ranker
14:32member bonesi and members of the
14:34subcommittee thank you for having me
14:35today today I sit here in front of you
14:37wondering how in the world did we get
14:39here how do we get from protecting our
14:41children to the argument of stop book
14:43Banning this is not a case of
14:45heterosexual versus LGBT plus nor is
14:48this a political issue or as many would
14:50call it book Banning this is about the
14:52innocence and protection of our children
14:54I would not expect my child to walk into
14:55one of your homes and be able to easily
14:57access Playboy
14:59or pornographic photos yet here we are
15:01today discussing the argument of these
15:03kind of books being accessible in our
15:04Public Schools Library All In The Name
15:06Of Education I sit here in front of you
15:09as a mother of four three of whom were
15:11students of the public school system and
15:13what I have witnessed in the last 18
15:14months being allowed access into our
15:16schools is appalling instead of
15:18Education being the focus we have
15:20completely lost our focus and now we
15:21have an issue of sexually explicit books
15:23being accessible to Children 3 years and
15:25older books easily available to Children
15:27within their own school media centers
15:30one example is an innocent looking book
15:32with bright colors and a puppy dug on
15:33the front to a three or four-year-old
15:36this book is appalling to appealing to
15:37them yet the language of this book is
15:39far from appropriate in the hide and
15:41fine glossery three to four year-olds
15:43are encouraged to find images of leather
15:46drag queen and underwear I want you to
15:48imagine very briefly with me that your
15:50three-year-old son with a speech delay
15:53who is in the school for a language
15:54delay comes home with this book and also
15:56read it out loud in class this this was
15:58my story and one of the reasons I am
16:00here before you today when I found out
16:02this was available to my youngest son
16:04and would be used as curriculum this mom
16:06began to speak up in speaking up in
16:08front of my board of education and
16:10asking questions about the
16:11appropriateness and the age
16:12appropriateness I found out that not
16:14only did parents know this existed but
16:17they had been approved by committees not
16:18even known to the lay public one book
16:20brought to my attention during this was
16:22gender queer and the purchase of eight
16:24copies at one high school Alone by adult
16:28adults I don't even know won't even look
16:29at this book so let me tell you why in
16:32the pages of this graphic novel we see a
16:33sexual fantasy play out if you need help
16:36Imaging this book in one portion of the
16:38book A strapped on penis is visible on
16:40the partner with oral sex being
16:41performed graphically the next is of a
16:43sexual position of two young adults with
16:45both parties private parts all being
16:47displayed this is just one of the 70
16:49plus books in my County's media
16:50libraries available to kids 18 and
16:52younger one school teacher alone
16:55requested eight copies for his class and
16:57media center keep in mind policy states
16:59that any book can also be used for
17:01resources in classrooms in my County I
17:03would like to address too the lie that
17:05parental groups are and moms for Liberty
17:07are book Banning if removing a sexually
17:10explicit book from school wiers is what
17:11you see as book baning then we need to
17:13re-evaluate our language these books are
17:15available to anyone who wishes to
17:16purchase them they're available at my
17:18local library my Amazon account Barnes &
17:21Noble or anywhere else that you wish to
17:23purchase a book the books that are being
17:25addressed are sexually explicit books
17:27like the one example above and go
17:29against the very laws and policies that
17:31state representatives of the people
17:33created we call these laws in most
17:35States minor indecency and obscenity
17:37laws according to my state Maryland code
17:40criminal law Title 11 indecency and
17:42obscenity subtitle 2 obscene matter
17:45section sale or display of obscene item
17:48to a minor states that obscenity is the
17:50act of human genitals sexual intercour
17:52sodomy fondling of or erotic touching of
17:55human genitals this law is goes on to
17:58state that is prohibited to show any
18:00minor willingly or unwillingly display
18:03or exhibit to a minor a person may
18:05willingly or knowingly engage in the
18:07business of displaying exhibiting
18:08showing or Distributing to a minor an
18:10item with absin gender queer is just one
18:12of the many examples that parent groups
18:14and so-called book banners actually are
18:16speaking up against the sexually
18:18explicit and detailed content does not
18:20belong in our schools and we are here
18:22asking you to to hold the very laws and
18:24policies that were Lo created on the
18:25very local level we don't show porn in
18:28the of Education to children as young
18:30and children as young as three like my
18:32son were exposed to these books what
18:34will start as library books will flow
18:36into the classrooms Montgomery County is
18:37a perfect example of this as it became
18:39the pilot Across the Nation for the next
18:42phase of anything new it has been since
18:44the 70s from the research I have heard
18:45and seen and it already is spilling into
18:47the classrooms of elementary kids in my
18:49County it is time for us to actually be
18:52the adults and Le the sexually explicit
18:54books out of the schools and refocus our
18:56attention on the failing of our schools
18:58R to our children in regards to Reading
19:00Writing and Mathematics a generation of
19:03kids needs to stop being divided over
19:05sexuality and actually start to stand up
19:07for the innocence of their minds how do
19:09we start parent representatives from all
19:11different walks of life should be a part
19:12of Comm committees that review these
19:14books one of the things we have seen
19:16since we started to speak of the board
19:17of education at the local level is the
19:19ability for parents to actually begin to
19:21review these books and have a 30-day
19:22window for them to sit in the library
19:24before they're put onto a library shelf
19:26the parents are advocates for kids we
19:28shouldn't be silencing them but rather
19:30refocusing on the innocence of children
19:32thank you and I look forward to your
19:34questions well done uh thank you so much
19:37uh right on time and a powerful story
19:40that uh you told up next is Dr Jonathan
19:42Freeman uh Dr Freeman welcome to the
19:44committee you're recognized for five
19:46minutes thank you chairman Bean ranking
19:48member Bon amichi and distinguished
19:50members of the subcommittee thank you
19:52for the opportunity to testify today my
19:54name is Jonathan fredman and I serve as
19:56director of free expression and
19:58education programs at pen America Pen
20:01America stands at the intersection of
20:03literature and human rights to protect
20:06free expression in the United States and
20:08worldwide we are a nonprofit nonpartisan
20:11organization with an unwavering
20:13commitment to free speech a principle
20:15that we view as an underpinning of
20:17democracy and a cause above politics
20:21today we Face an alarming attack on free
20:23expression on the freedom to read learn
20:26and teach organized groups of activists
20:30and some politicians have launched a
20:32campaign to exert ideological control
20:35over public education unprecedented in
20:38its scope scale and size in 2021 after
20:42speaking with authors about Rising
20:44efforts to ban their books first in
20:46Texas but soon after in Florida pen
20:48America launched a research project to
20:50track and record book banss Nationwide
20:53our most recent report on the 2223
20:55School gear recorded over three f th000
20:58instances of Books banned an increase of
21:0133% over the year prior these banss
21:04occurred in 33 States across 153 public
21:07school districts since we started our
21:09research we have maintained a clear
21:11consistent and transparent methodology
21:13with one guiding principle student
21:16access if on Monday a student has access
21:19to a book and on Tuesday she doesn't as
21:21a result of a challenge over that book's
21:23content ideas or themes then that book
21:26has been banned for that student ready
21:29access to the book has been diminished
21:31or entirely restricted whether that book
21:33is now locked in an administrator's
21:35office moved to an oper grade library or
21:38permanently removed from circulation or
21:39whether that book eventually gets
21:41returned to the Shelf after some
21:43indeterminate period of review for the
21:46duration that student can no longer
21:48access that book it is banned
21:51why because the circumstances
21:53surrounding such decisions are rooted in
21:56efforts to restrict access to
21:58information and ideas implicating
22:00students First Amendment rights and in
22:02our society the Lost of the loss of
22:05First Amendment rights even minimally is
22:09injurious let me be clear parents play a
22:12primary role when it comes to their own
22:13children's education that's why schools
22:15have parent teacher associations parent
22:17teacher conferences public school board
22:19meetings I am a parent of three School
22:22AG children I check my kids' homework
22:25read books to them and advocate for them
22:27when they need a Rises but we can and we
22:31must distinguish between a single parent
22:33raising a concern with a school and the
22:36current campaign to disrupt public
22:38education RIT large between a parent who
22:41wants to accommodate a kid's learning
22:43needs and one who grabs a list of books
22:45online they haven't read and then
22:47demands that no other family should be
22:49able to access them in public
22:51institutions our students deserve to be
22:53able to access highquality educational
22:55resources to access works of literature
22:58that reflect their identities and the
22:59complexities of their lives not every
23:02book is for every kid not every book is
23:05for every family but the unifying
23:08principle is that a wide variety of
23:11choice means kids and families can
23:13determine what's relevant to them that's
23:16the purpose and the power of a public
23:20library that's
23:22Freedom around the country that freedom
23:26that Liberty is being turned on its head
23:28remaking schools and Librarians from
23:31Educators into censors and again and
23:34again we see targeted organized and
23:37replicated efforts to ban books with
23:39protagonists of color books about
23:41African-American history books about
23:43lgbtq identities efforts to take away
23:46the very books that many students
23:48families and Educators say they want to
23:50access books that they say save
23:55lives over the past two years I have
23:57spoken
23:58to teachers Librarians parents and
24:00students across the country the stories
24:02I've heard are dire some have
24:05experienced direct threats others have
24:07been told that if they teach certain
24:08subjects order certain books or fail to
24:11ban certain books it will put their
24:13career in Jeopardy or Worse will lead
24:15them to being charged with a crime I've
24:17spoken with authors whose Works have
24:19been mischaracterized and attacked over
24:2112200 authors were affected by the bands
24:23in the past school year alone ask any of
24:26them why they write over and over they
24:28say the same reasons to help kids see
24:30themselves and allow others to be seen
24:32to provide kids the books they wish they
24:34had when they were growing up as poet
24:37Nikki Grim says to plant seeds of
24:39empathy and compassion that is what is
24:41at stake in today's movement to ban
24:44books whether we can live in a diverse
24:46society that upholds our traditions of
24:47freedom and democracy for us all or
24:50whether we want to allow a vocal
24:51minority with a discriminatory intent to
24:54narrow our students educational Horizons
24:56thank you Dr Freeman Well Done Right on
24:58the money so thank you so much for
25:00sharing your thoughts and ideas there'll
25:01be questions for you in just a minute uh
25:03let's go to uh Mr Max Eden uh welcome to
25:06the committee you are recognized for
25:07five minutes thank you chairman Bean
25:10ranking member bichi members of the
25:11subcommittee thank you for inviting me
25:13to testify my name is Max Eden and I'm a
25:16research fellow at the American
25:17Enterprise Institute for years now
25:19American parents have been slandered by
25:21leftwing advocacy organizations and the
25:23media as book banners my testimony today
25:27is simple
25:28books aren't being banned but many
25:31parents prefer that school libraries not
25:33stock pornographic materials and some
25:36school board members agree that this is
25:39reasonable now citizens who hear the
25:41word book ban can be forgiven for being
25:43alarmed unfortunately their alarm is not
25:46rooted in reality but rather in the
25:48Twisted abuse of the English language
25:51the media keeps using the word banned
25:53but that word doesn't mean what you
25:54think it means in common usage banned
25:57means made unavailable and of course the
26:00most banned book gender queer is still
26:02available on Amazon the conversation
26:05rather centers on school library
26:07availability if ban means made
26:09unavailable then virtually every book
26:11ever published has been banned but
26:13that's not even what that word means
26:14here indeed a book can be both banned
26:17and freely available to students the
26:20media has run with the Twisted
26:21definition of ban offered by pen America
26:25uh as Dr fredman said if a book is
26:26present on Monday pulled for review on
26:28Tuesday and then back on the shelves on
26:31Wednesday that book has according to
26:33them been banned if a parental
26:36permission requirement is placed on a
26:37book that book has allegedly been banned
26:41and if a book is moved to a guidance
26:43counselor's office that book has been
26:45banned it's a good thing that Orwell is
26:48still on offer to provide an account
26:50that isn't utterly linguistically
26:52dishonest the Heritage foundation's J
26:54green Madison Marino and I set out to
26:56assess how many of the 200 532 books
26:59that Penn's 2022 report labeled as
27:01banned were actually removed from school
27:03libraries we did this with one simple
27:05trick we checked the card cataloges as
27:08it turns out nearly three4 of the books
27:10that Penn labeled as band were still in
27:12school libraries you may have heard that
27:15books are being banned because of race
27:16or LGBT issues but that's not really
27:19true pen America labeled the black lives
27:22matter inspired the hate you give as the
27:24fifth most banned book A book that Miss
27:26bonabi reference in her opening
27:28statements uh she will be relieved to
27:29hear that we found that book in every
27:31single School library present uh you've
27:34also heard that this is about LGBT
27:37issues but when the Washington Post
27:38examined over a thousand review requests
27:40made by parents less than 7% said LGBT
27:44without also using the word sexual
27:46although that those requests may have
27:48contained words like pornographic or
27:50obscene and that's what this issue is
27:52really about the provision of sexually
27:55explicit material to children by public
27:58employees now this is a question of
27:59adult judgment Hustler has close-up
28:02genital photos and most believe this is
28:05not appropriate for school libraries
28:07Romeo and Juliet has lyrical Illusions
28:09to sex and most believe this is fine for
28:12school libraries a line must be drawn
28:14somewhere between those two points but
28:17where exactly take the previously
28:19mentioned gender queer that graphic
28:20novel famously includes a picture of
28:22oral sex being performed on a wearable
28:24sex toy is this okay for kids
28:28I've lost counted the number of times
28:29that parents have tried to read these
28:30Passages at school board meetings only
28:32to be cut off because school board
28:33members insist it's too obscene to be
28:34read out loud because you know kids
28:36could be listening if you examine the
28:39top 10 most actually removed books
28:41here's what you find gender queer orally
28:44inserting a wearable sex toy this book
28:46is gay a how-to guide for meeting
28:48strangers for sex on sex apps out of
28:51Darkness rape later gator a discussion
28:54of the finer points of oral sex all boys
28:56aren't blue underage incest It's
28:59Perfectly Normal drawings of kids
29:01masturbating lawn booy 10-year-olds
29:03performing sodomy on each other Jack of
29:06Hearts disposing of a condom soiled from
29:08anal sex crank a meth fueled rape lucky
29:12rape no meth involved and a court of
29:16mist and fury which contains
29:17comparatively tame uh sexual intercourse
29:20the Biden Department of education's
29:21office of civil rights is investigating
29:23and threatening to withdraw Federal
29:24funding from school districts that even
29:25think about removing these books
29:27for example the foresight School
29:29District in Georgia reevaluated me Earl
29:31and that I am girl why well in one
29:34passage which I maybe shouldn't read
29:35Reba him one character asks another if
29:36he knows how to perform oral sex on a
29:38woman the other character replies no but
29:39that he has been taught by Papa gain how
29:41to perform oral sex on an anus now if
29:45you're a Schoolboard member who thinks
29:46that maybe schools don't School
29:47libraries don't need reference to oral
29:49sex being performed on anuses uh you
29:51will be investigated by the by
29:52Department of Education and if you're a
29:54mom who believes it maybe reference to
29:56oral sex and this is inappropriate
29:58material for a school library you may be
30:00accused of being basically akin to a
30:02Nazi by an organization like pen America
30:05why is it exactly that leftwing
30:07nonprofits the media and the B
30:08Administration are so Keen to enforce
30:10stocking School libraries with this
30:11material I'm not quite sure but what I
30:13do know is it's perfectly reasonable for
30:15parents to not want this material and
30:17it's perfectly reasonable for
30:18Schoolboard members to meet their
30:19preferences Mr Eden thank you very much
30:21there'll be questions for you in just a
30:22moment too let's go to
30:25superintendent uh D Felder we're glad to
30:27have you here uh welcome and you're
30:29recognized for 5 minutes good morning
30:31thank you chairman Bean ranking member
30:33in committee for the opportunity to
30:34speak with you today my name is Megan
30:37degenfelder and I'm the elected State
30:39superintendent of Public Instruction for
30:41the state of Wyoming I ran for this
30:43position because I am passionate about
30:45public education as one of the most
30:48important tools of lifting people out of
30:50poverty and fulfilling the American
30:52dream the fundamental purpose of public
30:55education is to prepare students for
30:58jobs and to be good American citizens
31:01but this purpose becomes compromised
31:04when our parents lose trust and
31:07confidence in our public schools during
31:10the campaign I spoke with voters all
31:12across the state regarding their
31:14concerns of public education at the top
31:17of the list among all varying
31:19communities was fear of inappropriate
31:22and sexually explicit materials in
31:24schools this issue is destroying trust
31:28and confidence in our public education I
31:32met a mother whose teenage daughter
31:34approached her with a book she was
31:35uncomfortable with at school the mother
31:38rather than having a knee-jerk reaction
31:40and storming a school board meeting read
31:42the book herself what she found was
31:45appalling sexually depicted graphic acts
31:49as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse
31:52this mother was not only triggered by
31:54the book but also fearful that other
31:57miners reading this book may become
31:59conditioned to the material and not
32:01speak up if victims themselves when they
32:04ask the teacher to opt out of the book
32:07several other students spoke up almost
32:09immediately they too felt uncomfortable
32:12so what came of standing up against this
32:14book the teacher became their bully
32:18asking the child what the big deal was
32:21and why she was pushing
32:23this this child now fears going to
32:26school and begs to attend virtual
32:29education her younger siblings will now
32:32be homeschooled because this parent has
32:35lost trust in public
32:38education is this happening with every
32:40teacher in every school of course not we
32:42have many incredible teachers and
32:45Librarians but there are books available
32:48paid for by taxpayer dollars with
32:51graphic depictions of sexual acts that
32:54are made available to minor children
32:57under the age of sexual consent I've
33:00included in your materials excerpts from
33:02Wyoming one of the most conservative
33:04states in the country mentioning details
33:07of this book feels wildly inappropriate
33:09in a congressional hearing but why then
33:12is it available to our
33:14children graphic and erotic images of
33:17any sexual orientation are not suitable
33:20for minor children and are a complete
33:22misuse of taxpayer dollars it's common
33:26sense that a child should not have
33:28access to pornography while at school
33:31when did protecting our children become
33:34so
33:36controversial why do parents have to opt
33:38in for field trips and medical care but
33:40not sexually explicit materials we must
33:44understand that schools are temporary
33:47custodians they do not have free reign
33:50our parents do not seed their rights and
33:53responsibilities at the schoolhouse door
33:56there is absolutely no room for
33:59distractions or inappropriate influences
34:01when ACT scores are at a record low and
34:05the national average of students
34:07proficient or above on nape are only 26
34:10to
34:1235% so how do we solve this issue it
34:15certainly should not be left up to the
34:17federal government I respect local
34:20control in government including
34:22authority of books and Curriculum by
34:25locally elected school boards
34:27however through our research we found
34:29that many districts do not have a robust
34:32system or policies in place for
34:35appropriate Library materials and they
34:37need support from the state level my
34:40Approach at the state level has become
34:42working with stakeholder groups to
34:44create Statewide Library guidance to be
34:46released in the coming weeks with sample
34:48definitions model policy and allowing
34:51for a transparent public process our
34:54committee includes parents librarian
34:57School administrators Schoolboard
34:59members all of varying backgrounds and
35:02viewpoints this issue of sexually
35:05explicit material in schools must be
35:08addressed so that we can return our
35:10Focus to the fundamental purpose of
35:12education and regain trust in public
35:16education I will never stop fighting for
35:19the safety of Wyoming children thank you
35:22well done all of our panelists our
35:24Allstar panelists Get an A+ for coming
35:26in on uh time if you're watching at home
35:28we're talking adult material here so uh
35:31uh a warning to all that are watching or
35:34here present uh I will yield myself uh
35:37five minutes for questions Dr Fox get
35:40ready I will yield uh extra time to you
35:42let's go with Miss
35:44Smith in Montgomery County Maryland when
35:48you have said this is wrong to
35:49Schoolboard officials and other elected
35:51officials there how have they received
35:53you have they uh have you found them
35:55being welcome and saying we're going to
35:56fix this problem or have they rebuffed
35:59you uh to be honest they don't like when
36:01I speak up because then other parents
36:03start getting involved um what we have
36:05seen since then has been thousands of
36:07parents coming to the board of
36:09educations Muslims Ethiopians you name
36:12it um and parents are just shocked and
36:15honestly appalled that we're even having
36:17these discussions at Board of Education
36:19mger county is the richest county in the
36:23the US are we making progress in
36:24Montgomery County Maryland no sir
36:27I'm sorry to hear that let me go to the
36:28superintendent from Wyoming what do we
36:31want to take away what does the rest of
36:33the nation need to take away you're
36:35having success and Wyoming what does
36:37other states need to do Mr chairman I
36:40believe wholeheartedly in local control
36:42and decision-making as close to the
36:44people as possible um but as I mentioned
36:47um knowing that Schoolboard members are
36:48made up of volunteers and and have um a
36:51heavy task ahead of them my my father
36:52served on our local school board we need
36:54to make sure that we provide support to
36:56them model policy and guidance from the
36:58state level and at the local level I
37:00think it's incredibly important to have
37:02transparency to have uh processes in
37:05place and to have public input those
37:06things are important and for our local
37:08schools and leaders to remember that
37:10again they cannot Step Beyond the bounds
37:13of the rights of parents thank you very
37:15much and Mr Eden what's a better
37:16definition you've already said uh others
37:19have wild definitions of what ban means
37:21what is what is a real definition of ban
37:24that you want to put forth that we
37:25should consider I mean I think a book
37:27could be considered bound when you are
37:29no longer able to access it so and uh
37:32that's simply not the case we're just
37:33talking about what's appropriate for uh
37:37children correct and and as I mentioned
37:39about 3ars of the books that are
37:40allegedly baned are actually still in
37:43school libraries amen amen thank you
37:45very much uh I yield the remaining three
37:47minutes to uh our chairman Dr Fox you're
37:52recognized uh thank you Mr chairman and
37:54I want to thank all of our Witnesses for
37:56being here today to discuss this very
38:00timely uh subject it's something very
38:04very important to the American people Mr
38:07fredman I have a quick question for you
38:11do you condemn
38:15Hamas uh yes I do thank you very much
38:19I'm glad we agree on that Mr chairman I
38:22will yield back to you I appreciate that
38:25thank you very much thank you very much
38:27uh the committee will now yield uh uh
38:30time to ranking member banamichi for
38:32questions you're right thank you Mr
38:34chairman uh before I begin I want to
38:35introduce into the record two letters
38:37one from the American Library
38:39Association pointing out among other
38:41things that a parent does not have a
38:42right to restrict through government
38:44action what another parent's child may
38:46choose to read which would intrude on
38:48the other parents right to decide for
38:49their own child another letter from the
38:52penguin random house uh opposing uh
38:54censorship without objection so so Mr
38:57chairman we're we're nine months into
38:58this Congress and many of our colleagues
39:00uh on the on your side of the aisle
39:02continue to focus on culture War issues
39:04rather than working together on
39:05bipartisan solutions that support Public
39:07Schools students parents and Educators
39:11by uplifting extremist efforts to ban
39:14books rewrite curricula and silence
39:16diverse perspectives uh that denies
39:19students and their families and
39:20inclusive representative education that
39:22allows students to become critical
39:24thinkers and the next generation of
39:25problem solvers who will lead our nation
39:28uh we do not need more efforts that turn
39:29parents against Educators or transfer
39:31taxpayer dollars to private schools or
39:33attempt to extinguish the rights of
39:35lgbtq students uh Dr fredman I want to
39:38start by setting the record straight
39:39there have been some allegations that
39:41pan America's statistics on book bands
39:43are inaccurate or inflated so please
39:45clarify the accuracy of your
39:47organization's information data and
39:49research methods sure I'd be happy to um
39:53you know I do a lot of work on education
39:55trying to help people people understand
39:57freedom of speech and I think one of the
40:00aspects that is so troubling about this
40:02moment is that a fundamental Freedom
40:05that belongs to us all is being
40:07misunderstood misrepresented and and
40:10twisted um and our definitions with
40:13regard to the Banning of books and the
40:15restrictions in schools is Tethered very
40:18tightly to clear First Amendment Juris
40:21Prudence numerous decisions uh uh in in
40:24the history of this country that
40:26honestly they haven't been up for debate
40:28in half a century you know the idea that
40:31um schools have to conduct themselves in
40:34accordance with the Transcendent
40:36imperatives of the first amendment that
40:39um uh you know no official high or Petty
40:43should be prescribing which should be
40:44Orthodox uh in public institutions and
40:47so with regard to our data it is based
40:49on news reports it is based on scanning
40:52board minutes our data is completely
40:54transparent and critically our data is a
40:56snapshot in time so if we are saying
41:00these books were banned in 2122 school
41:03year we are tracking the range of
41:05prohibitions and the reason we are doing
41:07that is because the range of
41:09prohibitions is wildly unprecedented pen
41:12America has been doing work on book
41:13bands for on and off a hundred years as
41:16these issues have flared up and I can
41:18tell you that three years ago four years
41:19ago there was nothing like this on the
41:21scene you know when a a a new a story
41:24would come out about a book band
41:25somewhere in the country it rarely
41:27commanded this attention but something
41:29changed a movement to uh encourage
41:32people to try to censor information and
41:34ideas I'm I'm going try to get another
41:36question into Dr fredman you I just
41:39think back think was in the mid 1960s
41:41when Justice Potter Stewart said I know
41:42it when I see it for you know what is
41:44pornography I mean there there's so many
41:46different definitions and who's defining
41:48I think is part of the problem
41:50Republicans talk about the danger of
41:52exposing students to books they deem
41:54inappropriate because of their personal
41:55values or PR references but we really
41:57need to highlight the danger of ignoring
41:59or Worse erasing history by removing uh
42:02School library books that portray
42:03representations of marginalized people
42:05culture experiences books like homegoing
42:09uh and The Kite Runner those are
42:10outstanding s modern-day works of
42:12historical fiction uh books like all
42:14boys aren't blue a captivating Memoir
42:17it's affirming for young lgbtq readers
42:19especially those who are black as they
42:21establish their identity and grow up in
42:22a world that can be unforgiving and
42:24discriminatory and I think about the
42:26Spanish American philosopher George
42:27santiana who wrote back in 1905 in the
42:31life of reason those who cannot remember
42:32the past are condemned to repeat it so
42:35uh Dr fredman how important is it for
42:37students to have access to a wide
42:38variety of books from which they can
42:40learn about the world before them and
42:41the world around them oh it's absolutely
42:44critical and um those are the kinds of
42:46works that we have seen under attack
42:48sometimes directly through challenges
42:50other times almost carelessly you know
42:52somebody gets a list of books and isn't
42:54even checking it and just issues a
42:56prohibition on uh everything on the list
42:58and doesn't even realize that that book
43:00uh that that list of I don't know 400
43:02books contains um picture books for
43:05children biographies of uh uh uh
43:07historical figures of color in American
43:09history I mean that is what we are
43:11facing right now and it is critical that
43:13we stand up to it thank you and and just
43:15for each witness just yes or no please
43:17because I'm a b out of time is it
43:19important for students to have access to
43:21a school library that includes books
43:23from authors and on topics span
43:26different cultures backgrounds
43:28identities and perspectives yes
43:30ma'am Dr fedman is that important yes
43:33absolutely yes yes thank you very much
43:36and I yield back the balance of my time
43:38thank you very much uh ranking member
43:40bonami let's go to Utah where uh Mr
43:42Owens Burgess Owens your recognized for
43:44questions thank you thank you so much Mr
43:46chairman and um and your guests and
43:48Witnesses some say that we are here
43:51today talk about so-called bookm burning
43:53in k k through2 School libraries one of
43:56our nation's most consequential books
43:59Banning was done by the Supreme Court in
44:021963 when officially mandated Bible
44:04reading this book is banned from all of
44:08us anything that deals with Federal
44:10that's no longer can see it can no
44:11longer read it matter of fact there some
44:13that are listening today probably think
44:14this is totally unconstitutional I can
44:16even hold it
44:17up due to the banding of this book
44:20Generations of Americans today have no
44:22knowledge of the tenants upon which this
44:23country has been founded tenants based
44:25on the belief that with God in time we
44:27can truly become a more perfect union
44:29the band the knowledge of basic truths
44:31of Happiness like the J Christian
44:33concepts of the golden rule which says
44:36we should treat others the way we want
44:37to be treated or band the knowledge of
44:39Ten Commandments among these thou sh not
44:42steal steal th sh not kill th shall not
44:44commit adultery Thou shalt honor thy thy
44:47father and th mother we instead find the
44:49greatest disdain for these laws wherever
44:52Democrats rule we find the Banning of
44:54parents for schools school board
44:56meetings we find where Democrats rule we
44:59find the Banning of parents from
45:01knowledge of the mental state of their
45:04children wherever Democrats rule we find
45:06the Banning of knowledge of what others
45:08adults strangers are doing to sexualize
45:11our kids here's a sample of books that
45:14Democrats the National Library
45:15Association demand that we do not ban
45:19Jinder queer features pictures of oral
45:21sex performed on sex toys this book is
45:24gay provides a how to guide for
45:26strangers to for sex on gay sex apps out
45:30of the darkness contains rape lucky
45:32contains rape all boys aren't blue
45:35contains underage incests lawn booy
45:38contains a passes of 10 year old boys
45:40performing oral sex on each other these
45:43books are available to school a children
45:46and there's no shame from those who say
45:48this is not
45:50right I am very proud of the engagement
45:53of the parents who not recognize the rot
45:54and filth is being pushed in our
45:56innocence the our vulnerable children
45:59there's a reason why the the two words
46:01too young are never spoken by those who
46:04have no respect for parents their
46:06children or the family unit defined by
46:08God to raise and protect them last year
46:11Utah passed HB 374 bill that prohibits
46:15child excess to pornography and our
46:17school systems because in Utah we get it
46:19right we care more about our kids in an
46:22ideology bills have been passed to
46:24protect children from pornography in
46:26schools but students need the same
46:28protection from books a republican
46:30majority this year passed hr5 the
46:32parents Bill of Rights that protects CH
46:34uh students and assures parents of their
46:36rights to know what books are in school
46:38libraries not one of my Democratic
46:41friends voted yes not one moving forward
46:45our rep moving forward our Republican
46:47majority will work to stop the
46:49entrapment of children in institutions
46:51who prioritize sexual indoctrination
46:53instead of Reading Writing thinking and
46:56succeeding every child regardless of
46:59city state ZIP code should have the
47:02right for educational Freedom as release
47:05the power of the free market and
47:06meritocracy parents will have the the
47:09civil rights to access a quality
47:10education for their for their
47:13child
47:14um Miss Smith uh one of the things you
47:17mentioned uh that library books uh don't
47:19stay in the library sh on the shelves
47:22that they can be used directly for
47:24school curriculum is is this correct and
47:26what is the implication of how this uh
47:29might be used for inappropriate content
47:32yes sir actually my second grater last
47:34year was read one of these books off the
47:35shelf um and he was very uncomfortable
47:38and actually had to leave the library
47:40and asked to go to the bathroom because
47:41he was uncomfortable I don't think we
47:43should ever put a seven-year-old in that
47:44predicament I think that we need to
47:47start thinking about that these books
47:49shouldn't be available to these kids in
47:51the first place and for a seven-year-old
47:53to be bold enough to actually walk out
47:54that we shouldn't even put a kid in that
47:56situation in the first place thank you
47:58uh Mr Eden uh we've talked a lot about
48:00book removal um what do you know uh what
48:04I'd like to know is how do these books
48:05get into school's libraries in the first
48:07place yeah um they get in in large part
48:11innocently enough on the behalf of
48:12school librarians who look at a list and
48:14see that certain titles are recommended
48:16as being LGBT inclusive and so they
48:19purchase the books um they're looking at
48:21lists from organizations such as the
48:22American Library Association which at
48:24this point is a wholly IDE olcal
48:26organization run by a self-proclaimed
48:28Marxist who has said that school
48:30libraries need to be sites of socialist
48:32organizing so there's an agenda uh in
48:35terms of what's presented school to
48:36school librarians school librarians take
48:39that agenda possibly innocently un first
48:41and then are surprised and defensive
48:43when they find that they're being
48:44objected to and that's kind of how we're
48:46here today thank you I'm running out of
48:48time I'll just say um uh Dr Freeman
48:50you've made the strongest case I can
48:52think of of what we need to have
48:53educational Choice freedom because there
48:56are people like yourself who will look
48:57at facts and studies and try to convince
48:59all of us that parents don't know better
49:00what for their own children this is a
49:03fundamental Concept in our country
49:05parents have the rights to make sure
49:07their kids are educated not the way
49:08other people want particularly it comes
49:10to sexual content but the way we want
49:12thank you and I back thank you Mr Owens
49:14thank you very much let's go to Arizona
49:16where Mr Gala is recognized for five
49:18minutes your questions thank you very
49:19much Mr chairman as a as a former School
49:23Board member that spent 12 years on a
49:25school board in uh with Tucson unified
49:28back home
49:31uh the importance of public schools and
49:34in particular uh the value of libraries
49:37and the value of a a
49:40diverse uh opportunity for all students
49:43to be able to access information and to
49:46be able to
49:48uh to learn and then that that's the
49:51environment that and the values that I
49:54uh learned being a Schoolboard member
49:56they represent the values of this
49:58country and and and I think access is
50:01the most important thing and the other
50:03important thing is uh we're protecting
50:05all the uh protecting the children that
50:08attend those
50:09schools and treating those children uh
50:13with the importance that they deserve
50:15and the teachers and one of the things
50:17that I see is that erosion of that
50:20public institution and part of it is uh
50:23trying to control what people read and
50:25don't read and and one of the one of the
50:29things I was going to ask you Dr freeden
50:32and I think that is a huge threat to
50:33public education part of this whole
50:35dismantling agenda that goes around
50:38about our Public Schools um I wanted to
50:42ask you a question Dr
50:44fedman and thank you for your testimony
50:46I represent I represented that school
50:48district and and much of of the
50:50traditional and and because it was uh
50:53predominantly of color
50:56the community that I represent now and
50:58that and the school district was then
51:00was very significantly of color and
51:05traditional academic candids did did not
51:08reach uh those
51:11students we the L the curriculum didn't
51:16reflect them the books didn't reflect
51:18them and the subjects and characters uh
51:21didn't look like the students that were
51:23going to those schools can you would
51:25just explain expand briefly upon the
51:28potential impacts of banning books you
51:31know in Florida Roberto Clemente I mean
51:34he's a God and uh that was put aside for
51:37a while uh certain poetry our
51:41superintendent of public education in
51:43Arizona Tom Horn feels that we shouldn't
51:46talk about race at all because it
51:48offends some and that way we don't have
51:51to talk about history because it it's
51:55part of the story and uh so my question
51:59is tell them how it impacts students in
52:03communities uh yeah our schools are
52:07becoming more diverse and research shows
52:09that young people are going to be more
52:11engaged in learning in schools when
52:14their libraries um and the books that
52:16they have already access to reflect
52:18their identities reflect their families
52:20reflect a range of their life
52:22experiences um deal with the
52:24complexities of the lives that they're
52:26living um and the purpose of a library
52:30is in fact to be that kind of Wellspring
52:32of information uh that's what school
52:35librarians are charged with doing
52:36they're not charged with exercising a
52:38kind of censorious mindset about how
52:41different people in the community might
52:42feel about one content or other they're
52:45charged with producing a robust diverse
52:47collection and that's what's critical
52:50yeah and I think and I asked that
52:52question because the efforts at least uh
52:55at in my home state and led by the
52:58superintendent then and now again
53:00superintendent
53:02uh has to do more with the discussion
53:06today is about protecting children the
53:09title from
53:10explicit um sexual
53:13content
53:15but content is also the issue and and
53:19and can you talk about examples where
53:21Banning has to do with the content about
53:24what you dis agree with an idea a point
53:28of view
53:30uh versus trying to twist ourselves into
53:34a Pressel to try to fit the Pico uh
53:37decision in terms of a definition of
53:39banning yeah um I think it's just quite
53:42clear and you really cannot separate um
53:45the facts of what's been going on around
53:47the country the past years in terms of
53:49how many stories there are of people who
53:52are trying to remove books and being
53:53successful at removing books that are
53:55about um black stories by black authors
53:58about lgbtq lives you cannot pretend
54:00that is not happening there are stories
54:02in the news there was a story just this
54:04week in Iowa about hundreds of books
54:06being removed under one of these laws um
54:09and that's been the theme for the past
54:10two
54:12years you back Mr
54:15chairman uh thank you very much uh sadly
54:18we're out of time I want to thank each
54:20of our panelists for our Allstar
54:22panelists you did not disappoint how
54:24about that each of you has added to this
54:26uh conversation I want to uh say that
54:29for any member who W who wishes to
54:32submit uh questions for the record
54:34please submit them to the committee
54:35clerk electronically by November 2nd
54:382023 uh I'll yield time to ranking
54:41member bonami any final thoughts before
54:43we adjourn thank you Mr chairman I think
54:46this is an important discussion but I
54:48but I want to also share uh some words
54:50from the award-winning children's author
54:53Judy Bloom she said I believe that
54:55censorship grows out of fear and because
54:57fear is contagious some parents are
54:58easily swayed book Banning satisfies
55:01their need to feel in control of their
55:03children's lives this fear is often
55:05disguised as moral outrage they want to
55:07believe that if their children don't
55:08read about it their children won't know
55:10about it and if they don't know about it
55:12it won't happen uh Mr chairman this is
55:14an important issue uh yeah we we have
55:17freedom of of speech in this country but
55:20we also have freedom of religion my
55:22colleague with the Bible I'm not sure
55:23what where he was going with that uh but
55:26we would need to continue this
55:27conversation but we also need to get
55:29back to doing what's best for children
55:31let's talk about the schools where they
55:33don't even have a library let's focus on
55:35that uh and work together uh finally Mr
55:38chairman I I just want to point out the
55:40um what I mentioned about how people
55:43have different definitions there is a
55:44school I believe in Florida where uh a
55:47teacher was sanctioned for showing
55:49students pictures of the stat
55:51Michelangelo's famous statue of David um
55:54that is ordering on the Absurd Mr
55:56chairman uh so I I I just want to thank
55:59the the witnesses and and uh uh we can
56:01all agree um that that we need to do
56:04what's best for our students uh let's
56:06continue the conversations about how we
56:08get there and I yell back thank you very
56:09much uh here's our takeaways uh
56:11inappropriate content is a real problem
56:14all of our Witnesses really uh testified
56:16I know we have different angles of how
56:17we uh come to the solution uh Wyoming
56:21should be one of our leaders to let
56:22local control I believe local control is
56:25is one of the answers the Biden
56:27administration's book Banning Zar is a
56:30real threat and hopefully uh will still
56:33allow local control for school boards uh
56:36each of you traveled a long way and
56:37you've added to the conversation to uh
56:39ranking member thank you for a great uh
56:42committee today and with that there no
56:44being no further business before us this
56:47committee is
56:53adjourned

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