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

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17:37ladies and gentlemen a very good morning
17:39welcome to Washington DC the uh House of
17:42Representatives and the subcommittee on
17:45Early Childhood Elementary and secondary
17:48education uh we're glad to have you here
17:51uh this meeting is hereby called to
17:53order and without objection the chair is
17:55authorized to call a recess at any time
17:57that recess is is going to come really
17:59close to probably 11:00 the subcommittee
18:01hearing today is to hear testimony to
18:03examine the prevalence of
18:05inappropriate content in libraries in
18:08schools the Biden Administration is
18:10troubling response and state and local
18:14level Solutions uh before I get started
18:17I need to make a disclaimer if you're
18:19watching at home or if you're in this
18:20committee room we are going to be
18:22handling some very sensitive mature
18:25issues today we will be discussing
18:27widely inappropriate books that are
18:29accessible in school libraries this
18:32content is uncomfortable for members of
18:35Congress and it's certainly
18:36inappropriate for young children as such
18:38the committee recommends anyone with
18:39small children in the audience or if
18:42you're watching on C-Span or if this is
18:45a tape recording you're watching it you
18:47just want to reconsider young people
18:49watching this meeting additionally uh
18:51children should not watch at home we're
18:52holding this hearing to help ensure that
18:54young children are never exposed to this
18:56type of graphic content not to further
18:58expose them to it with that warning out
19:00of the way welcome we're glad to have
19:02you here we got some great Witnesses
19:03I've met with some of you this morning I
19:05think we're going to have a great chat a
19:06great discussion as we go forward on
19:09this hearing like every flasho in
19:10America's culture War the media has
19:12distorted the truth and fueled public
19:16outrage and discontent today this
19:18committee will set the record straight
19:19with the American people inappropriate
19:21books in school libraries and local
19:24communities are within their right to
19:27remove them
19:29uh some of my colleagues on the other
19:32side of the aisle will in inevitably
19:35inuse Republicans of engaging in Wild
19:38spread campaign to ban books you'll hear
19:40that uh term today ban books what does
19:43that mean and uh what are we doing to
19:46band books because of uh animus or
19:49prejudice against LGBT students however
19:53the evidence suggests books are being
19:55removed for no other reason than it's
19:57just inappropriate it's explicit content
20:01uh in fact seven of the 10 most
20:03frequently removed books ex feature
20:05explicit heterosexual content
20:08Additionally the LGBT books are being
20:11challenged by
20:12parents such as lawn booy and gender
20:15queer they're so sexually explicit that
20:17their respective authors have advised
20:20that nobody below a teenager is ready
20:23for these books I don't recommend this
20:26book to kids that's what the author has
20:28said these books are so obscene that
20:30reciting more passages these passages
20:32mere passages has gotten adult censored
20:35in adult
20:36forums School Board officials in Clay
20:38County Florida had to cut a microphone a
20:41father who was talking about reading
20:42from the book that his daughter had
20:44access to uh for reading lucky for fear
20:48the explicit passages was violate the
20:50FCC laws regarding since the school
20:53board meeting was being televised late
20:55night television refused to air an ad
20:57featuring
20:58language from gender queer if these
21:02books are too inappropriate for adults
21:04and they are certainly inappropriate for
21:06children the committee will'll ask
21:09ourselves today do do communities have
21:11the right to remove inappropriate
21:13content from library
21:16shelves of course they do school boards
21:18communities and parents constantly set
21:20standards of decency but removing a book
21:23from a library shelf is not akin to P
21:25pouring gasoline on it and setting it a
21:27blaze it's not criminalizing the
21:29ownership of the book it's not even
21:31making them less accessible if you can
21:33check out a book from a public library
21:35it's not banned uh if you can order a
21:37book from Amazon and have it delivered
21:39to your home uh the next day it's not
21:42banned in fact the most removed books
21:44are still wildly popular on Amazon age
21:47appropriate content moderation by local
21:49school officials in the districts is is
21:52a right deeply ingrained in the
21:54principles of localism and federalism
21:56federalizing the book review process by
21:59putting it in the hands of DC
22:00bureaucrats thereby taking parents out
22:02of the equation would be the worst
22:04possible solution yet that's exactly
22:06what the Biden Administration is doing
22:09President Biden appointed a book review
22:11Zar to monitor the actions of local
22:13school boards and potentially penalize
22:15them for simply reviewing books I see
22:18this as a dangerous step in a violation
22:20of federal principles today's hearing
22:22should not be about creating more
22:23bureaucrats or more laws or scoring
22:25cheap political points but how to best
22:27impact our parents to be the greatest
22:30possible advocate for their child's
22:32education my final appeal goes to
22:34parents keep demanding that your school
22:36board reflect the values of your
22:38communities keep involving yourself in
22:40your children's education and most
22:42importantly keep doing what's best for
22:44your kids with that I yield to the
22:45ranking member for her opening statement
22:48uh thank you chair bean and thank you to
22:49our Witnesses more than seven months ago
22:51our Republican colleagues sat in this
22:53hearing room and vehemently denied any
22:54interest in addressing the Banning of
22:56books then house Republic an passed a
22:58bill they said was about parental rights
23:00but in fact should be called the
23:01politics over parents act because it is
23:03essentially a blueprint for book Banning
23:06now today the majority is holding a
23:08hearing specifically about what books
23:10should or should not be allowed in
23:11school libraries and I'll note that this
23:13is the US Congress not a school board
23:15meeting sadly this far-right
23:17conservative movement is having a
23:18profound real life effect on children on
23:21Educators and importantly on school
23:23librarians research shows that of as of
23:262021 more than 4 million students had
23:29their freedom to read curtailed because
23:31of book bands that includes students
23:33across more than 5,000 schools 138
23:36school districts in 32 states
23:38specifically pen America found that 41%
23:41of ban contact content focuses on lgbtqi
23:45plus themes protagonists or characters
23:4740% focuses on characters of color rates
23:51of teachers citing burnout and what they
23:53feel are unsafe working conditions as a
23:55reason for leaving the profession of
23:56skyrocketed at least seven states have
23:59passed Draconian laws in the past two
24:01years subjecting school librarians to
24:04years of imprisonment and fines for
24:06providing books deemed to be explicit
24:09obscene or harmful that's incarceration
24:12these censorship laws are being enacted
24:14by extreme Mega politicians under the
24:16pretext of parental rights when in
24:17reality it's a coordinated and
24:19apparently well-funded vocal minority of
24:21parents and conservative organizations
24:23pushing their personal agenda on others
24:26we can all agree that books in school
24:29library should be age appropriate and we
24:31all used to agree that the federal
24:32government should not dictate school
24:34curricula or what books are in school
24:36libraries regrettably it seems that my
24:39Republican colleagues have abandoned
24:40these previously shared values although
24:43I do note the superintendent Dean Felder
24:45expressly says in her testimony so how
24:48do we solve this issue it certainly
24:50should not be up to the federal
24:51government a book's age appropriateness
24:54and its ability to tell challenging
24:56culturally significant stories
24:57representing diverse perspectives those
24:59are not mutually exclusive for example
25:02the hate you give is a powerful novel
25:04taught in middle and high schools about
25:06a young black girl who finds her voice
25:08and stands up for racial justice as she
25:10grapples with the trauma of witnessing
25:12her friend being murdered by police
25:14officers this important book elevates
25:16Black voices and centers a historic
25:18civil rights struggle but it's been
25:19challenged by Republican officials and
25:21parents in at least four states I want
25:24to remind my colleagues that it is
25:26students who are most affected by these
25:27policies in 1982 a group of students
25:30stood up for their rights and they
25:31challenged the constitutionality of book
25:33bands the case the Board of Education
25:36island tree Union Free School District
25:38number 26 versus Pico went to the US
25:41Supreme Court which considered whether a
25:43local school board's decision to
25:45prohibit certain books from its Junior
25:47High and high school libraries because
25:48of their content violated the First
25:50Amendment Free Speech safeguards the
25:52court decided that local school boards
25:55may not remove books from school library
25:57liary shelves simply because they
25:59dislike the idea contained in those
26:01books I'm concerned that my colleagues
26:03are waging these culture wars in part to
26:05undermine our public education system
26:07and to try to justify defunding public
26:09schools and libraries preferring instead
26:11to funnel public dollars into lowquality
26:13private voucher programs and we've seen
26:15that before thankfully under President
26:18Biden's leadership the Department of
26:19Education is using its legal Authority
26:21Under the Civil Rights Act to fight book
26:23bans in schools including in Texas and
26:25Georgia and is working to protect their
26:27right civil rights of students well we
26:30don't have students testifying today Mr
26:31chairman but their voices should be
26:33heard and so I'm just going to share
26:34just a few and these are students from
26:36across the country is from a New York
26:38Times article last year titled what
26:40students are saying about banning books
26:42from school libraries Dia who's from
26:44Arkansas said hiding away things that
26:46make us uncomfortable doesn't make them
26:48go away even if we don't talk about it
26:50racism sexual assault genocide and many
26:53other complex issues will still exist we
26:55have to face the discomfort to to keep
26:57it from happening again while those
26:59supporting the book Banning movement
27:01claim that it's an issue of parental
27:02rights it's really an issue of people
27:04trying to ban things that make them
27:06uncomfortable Jason a student from Maine
27:09said as a teenager I'm still trying to
27:11find my way into this world and I want
27:13to know as many other viewpoints as
27:15possible so I know my thoughts are my
27:17own and not just a product of a limited
27:19amount of information trying to force a
27:21community to get rid of a book as a way
27:23of forcing one's beliefs on the entire
27:25community and Jordan from Norwood High
27:28School said reading the article about
27:30book Banning and these comments just
27:32makes me think gez the fact that these
27:34books are being challenged shows how
27:36much some people need education on the
27:38subjects in them finally the Democrats
27:40on this sub subcommittee will continue
27:42to reiterate our Focus during each
27:44hearing this Congress let's work
27:47together on important issues that will
27:48help our students succeed according to
27:51the American Library Association 2 and a
27:53half million students Nationwide are
27:56enrolled in school districts where where
27:57there are no school libraries at a time
28:00when many students are not proficient in
28:02reading and still struggling with
28:04literacy we should focus on supporting
28:06Librarians and Educators and their work
28:08to help every student read and feel safe
28:11and welcome in their school thank you Mr
28:13chairman and I look forward to the
28:14discussion thank you ranking member
28:15banamichi uh pursuant to committee role
28:178C all committee members who wish to
28:19insert written statements into the file
28:20may do so by submitting them to the
28:21committee clerk electronically in word
28:23format by 5: a p.m. after uh 14 days
28:26from the date of this hearing which is
28:27November 2nd 2023 and without objection
28:30the hearing record will remain open for
28:3214 days after the DAT of this hearing to
28:33allow such statements and other extal
28:36ranous materials referenced during the
28:38hearing to be submitted for the official
28:39hearing record I note for the record
28:41that the subcommittee from uh my
28:43colleague from Pennsylvania Mr smucker
28:45waves on to the subcommittee for the
28:47purposes of today's hearing ladies and
28:51gentlemen we've got an All-Star panel we
28:52went across the nation to find uh some
28:56minds and opinions that could bring uh
28:58light on this subject so to help me
29:00introduce our All-Star panel our first
29:02will yield to the gentleman from Utah uh
29:05Mr
29:06Owens Miss Miller Miss Miller from uh
29:10Illinois Miss Miller Miss Mary
29:12Miller thank you it's my honor to
29:15introduce Mrs Lindsay Smith Mrs Smith is
29:19the Montgomery County Maryland chapter
29:21chair for moms for Liberty she worked as
29:24a nurse for 15 years until 2 years ago
29:26when she became a full-time atome mom
29:30she is the mother of four author of two
29:32books 45 days of prayer and daughter of
29:35the king and she is usually found on a
29:37sporting field supporting her kids thank
29:40you so much for the work you're doing
29:42and for being our witness ranking member
29:45banamichi also would like to introduce a
29:47All-Star panelist Dr Jonathan fredman is
29:50a director of free expression and
29:52education programs at Pan America he
29:54oversees research advocacy and education
29:57related to academic freedom educational
29:59gag orders book bands and general free
30:02expression in schools colleges and
30:04universities Dr fredman was a 2019 2020
30:07fellow of the University of California's
30:09National Center for free speech and
30:11Civic engagement he holds an Ma and PhD
30:14in intern International Education from
30:17NYU thank you so much our third panelist
30:20is Mr Max Eden he's a research fellow at
30:23the American Enterprise Institute right
30:25here in Washington DC Mr Eden is a
30:27research fellow and at the American uh
30:30Enterprise Institute where he focuses on
30:32education reform specifically K through2
30:35and early childhood education before
30:37joining AI he was a senior fellow at the
30:40Manhattan Institute in addition to a
30:42number of reports and studies on
30:43education Mr Eden is the co-author here
30:46he goes there there's so many uh the
30:48Wall Street Journal USA uh today
30:50bestseller why Meadow died the people
30:53and policies that created the Parkland
30:55shooter and endanger Americans students
30:58he has been published in policy journals
31:00and the popular press including the hill
31:02The Washington Post and USA Today uh
31:04welcome Mr Max Eden and finally our
31:06Final witness will now go to Mr Burgess
31:09ens the gentleman from
31:13Utah got it uh let me do this uh if it's
31:16okay and I'm sorry I didn't coordinate
31:18with you but our final panelist is
31:22um is Megan uh she's the superintendent
31:26from uh from
31:28Wyoming and I met with her earlier she
31:31has the uh the state that is rocking in
31:35in
31:36Wyoming yeah uh Burgess so and you got
31:38the full story let's go back to the
31:40gentleman from
31:41Utah sorry about that guys sorry uh M uh
31:45Megan defer def defen Felder uh
31:49superintendent Wyoming Department of
31:51Education uh uh in cyen Wyoming Miss
31:55Megan uh Megan is is the elected to the
31:57Wyoming state superintendent of of
31:59Public Instruction in November 2022
32:03making one of the youngest elected
32:04statewise officials in Wyoming uh
32:06history Megan grew up in a sixth
32:09generation ranching family and chasper
32:11um and graduated from the University of
32:13Wyoming Megan served as a chief policy
32:15officer at the Wyoming Department of
32:17Education under superintendent Julian B
32:20balar she oversaw multiple divisions
32:23including standards and assessments
32:25accountability and hathway scholarship
32:27as well as $30 million budget and a 25
32:31person staff Megan also comes from years
32:33of private sector experience in the
32:35fields of coal and gas uh oil and gas
32:38where she's worked to lessen regulation
32:40burdens uh and government overreach
32:43welcome W Megan welcome uh Miss Smith
32:45and thank you uh uh Mr Owens I talked to
32:48some of you about the F minute rule
32:50there'll be a clock five minutes is uh
32:52if you hear this that means try to wrap
32:54it up Dr freedan welcome I didn't get a
32:55chance to talk to you but you're
32:57familiar with our five minute rule let's
32:58go ahead and get to testimony Miss Smith
33:00you are uh first of all welcome to the
33:02committee you're recognized for five
33:04minutes thanks chairman Bean ranker
33:07member bonesi and members of the
33:09subcommittee thank you for having me
33:10today today I sit here in front of you
33:13wondering how in the world did we get
33:15here how do we get from protecting our
33:16children to the argument of stop book
33:18Banning this is not a case of
33:20heterosexual versus LGBT plus nor is
33:23this a political issue or as many would
33:25call it book Banning this is about the
33:27innocence and protection of our children
33:29I would not expect my child to walk into
33:30one of your homes and be able to easily
33:32access Playboys or pornographic photos
33:35yet here we are today discussing the
33:37argument of these kind of books being
33:39accessible in our Public Schools Library
33:41All In The Name Of Education I sit here
33:43in front of you as a mother of four
33:45three of whom were students of the
33:46public school system and what I have
33:48witnessed in the last 18 months being
33:50allowed access into our schools is
33:52appalling instead of Education being the
33:54focus we have completely lost our focus
33:56and now we have have an issue of
33:57sexually explicit books being accessible
33:59to Children 3 years and older books
34:01easily available to Children within
34:03their own school media centers one
34:05example is an innocent looking book with
34:07bright colors and a puppy dog on the
34:09front to a three or four-year-old this
34:11book is appalling to appealing to them
34:13yet the language of this book is far
34:14from appropriate in the hide and fine
34:17glossery three to four year-olds are
34:18encouraged to find images of leather
34:21drag queen and underwear I want you to
34:23imagine very briefly with me that your
34:25three-year-old son with speech delay who
34:28is in the school for a language delay
34:30comes home with this book and also read
34:31it out loud in class this was my story
34:34and one of the reasons I am here before
34:36you today when I found out this was
34:38available to my youngest son and would
34:39be used as curriculum this mom began to
34:42speak up in speaking up in front of my
34:44board of education and asking questions
34:46about the appropriateness and the age
34:47appropriateness I found out that not
34:49only did parents know this existed but
34:52they had been approved by committees not
34:53even known to the lay public one book
34:55brought to my attention during during
34:57this was gender queer and the purchase
34:58of eight copies at one high school Alone
35:01by adult adults I don't even know won't
35:04even look at this book so let me tell
35:06you why in the pages of this graphic
35:08novel we see a sexual fantasy play out
35:10if you need help imagining this book in
35:12one portion of the book a strapon penis
35:14is visible on the partner with oral sex
35:16being performed graphically the next is
35:18of a sexual position of two young adults
35:20with both parties private parts all
35:22being displayed this is just one of the
35:2470 plus books in my County's media
35:25libraries available to kids 18 and
35:27younger one school teacher alone
35:30requested eight copies for his class and
35:32media center keep in mind policy stays
35:34that any book can also be used for
35:36resources in classrooms in my County I
35:39would like to address too the lie that
35:40parental groups are and moms for Liberty
35:42are book Banning if removing a sexually
35:45explicit book from school wiers is what
35:46you see as book banding then we need to
35:48re-evaluate our language these books are
35:50available to anyone who wishes to
35:51purchase them they're available at my
35:53local library my Amazon account Barnes &
35:56no or anywhere else that you wish to
35:58purchase a book the books that are being
36:00addressed are sexually explicit books
36:02like the one example above and go
36:04against the VAR laws and policies that
36:06state representatives of the people
36:08created we call these laws in most
36:10States minor indecency and obscenity
36:12laws according to my state Maryland code
36:15criminal law Title 11 indecency and
36:17obscenity subtitle 2 obscene matter
36:20section sale or display of obscene item
36:23to a minor states that obscenity is the
36:25act of human genitals sexual intercourse
36:27sodomy fondling of or erotic touching of
36:30human genitals this law is goes on to
36:33state that it's prohibited to show any
36:35minor willingly or unwillingly display
36:38or exhibit to a minor a person may
36:40willingly or knowingly engage in the
36:42business of displaying exhibiting
36:44showing or Distributing to a minor an
36:45item with absin gender queer is just one
36:47of the many examples that parent groups
36:49and so-called book baners actually are
36:51speaking up against the sexually
36:53explicit and detailed content does not
36:55belong in our schools and we are here
36:57asking you to to hold the very laws and
36:59policies that were Lo created on the
37:00very local level we don't show porn in
37:03the name of Education to children as
37:05young and children as young as three
37:06like my son were exposed to these books
37:09what will start as library books will
37:10flow into the classrooms Montgomery
37:12County is a perfect example of this as
37:14it became the pilot Across the Nation
37:16for the next phase of anything new it
37:18has been since the 70s from the research
37:20I have heard and seen and it already is
37:22spilling into the classrooms of
37:23elementary kids in my County it is time
37:26for us to actually be the adults and
37:28leave the sexually explicit books out of
37:30the schools and refocus our attention on
37:32the failing of our schools to our
37:33children in regards to Reading Writing
37:36and Mathematics a generation of kids
37:38needs to stop being divided over
37:40sexuality and actually start to stand up
37:42for the innocence of their minds how do
37:44we start parent representatives from all
37:46different walks of life should be a part
37:47of Comm committees that review these
37:49books one of the things we have seen
37:51since we started to speak of the board
37:52of education at the local level is the
37:54ability for parents to actually begin to
37:56review these books and have a 30-day
37:57window for them to sit in the library
37:59before they're put onto a library shelf
38:01the parents are advocates for their kids
38:03we shouldn't be silencing them but
38:05rather refocusing on the innocence of
38:07children thank you and I look forward to
38:09your questions well done uh thank you so
38:11much uh right on time and a powerful
38:14story that uh you told up next is Dr
38:17Jonathan Freeman uh Dr Freeman welcome
38:18to the committee you're recognized for
38:20five
38:21minutes thank you chairman Bean ranking
38:23member Bon amichi and distinguished
38:25members of the sub commmittee thank you
38:27for the opportunity to testify today my
38:29name is Jonathan fredman and I serve as
38:31director of free expression and
38:33education programs at pen America Pen
38:36America stands at the intersection of
38:38literature and human rights to protect
38:41free expression in the United States and
38:43worldwide we are a nonprofit nonpartisan
38:46organization with an unwavering
38:48commitment to free speech a principle
38:50that we view as an underpinning of
38:52democracy and a cause above politics
38:56today we Face an alarming attack on free
38:58expression on the freedom to read learn
39:01and
39:02teach organized groups of activists and
39:05some politicians have launched a
39:07campaign to exert ideological control
39:10over public education unprecedented in
39:13its scope scale and size in 2021 after
39:17speaking with authors about Rising
39:19efforts to ban their books first in
39:21Texas but soon after in Florida pen
39:23America launched a research project to
39:25track and record book bands Nationwide
39:28our most recent report on the 2223
39:30school year recorded over 3,000
39:33instances of books band an increase of
39:3633% over the year prior these bands
39:39occurred in 33 States across 153 public
39:42school districts since we started our
39:44research we have maintained a clear
39:46consistent and transparent methodology
39:48with one guiding principle student
39:51access if on Monday a student has access
39:54to a book and on Tuesday she doesn't as
39:56a result of a challenge over that book's
39:58content ideas or themes then that book
40:01has been banned for that student ready
40:04access to the book has been diminished
40:06or entirely restricted whether that book
40:08is now locked in an administrator's
40:10office moved to an upper grade library
40:12or permanently removed from circulation
40:14or whether that book eventually gets
40:17returned to the Shelf after some
40:18indeterminate period of review for the
40:21duration that student can no longer
40:23access that book it is banned why
40:27because the circumstances surrounding
40:29such decisions are rooted in efforts to
40:31restrict access to information and ideas
40:34implicating students First Amendment
40:36rights and in our society the Lost of
40:39the loss of First Amendment rights even
40:42minimally is injurious let me be clear
40:46parents play a primary role when it
40:48comes to their own children's education
40:50that's why schools have parent teacher
40:51associations parent teacher conferences
40:54public school board meetings I am a
40:56parent parent of three schoolage
40:57children I check my kids homework read
41:00books to them and advocate for them when
41:02the need arises but we can and we must
41:06distinguish between a single parent
41:08raising a concern with a school and the
41:11current campaign to disrupt public
41:13education RIT large between a parent who
41:16wants to accommodate a kid's learning
41:18needs and one who grabs a list of books
41:20online they haven't read and then
41:22demands that no other family should be
41:24able to access them in public in
41:26institutions our students deserve to be
41:29able to access highquality educational
41:30resources to access works of literature
41:33that reflect their identities and the
41:34complexities of their lives not every
41:37book is for every kid not every book is
41:40for every family but the unifying
41:43principle is that a wide variety of
41:46choice means kids and families can
41:48determine what's relevant to them that's
41:51the purpose and the power of a public
41:55library that that's
41:57Freedom around the country that freedom
42:01that Liberty is being turned on its head
42:03remaking schools and Librarians from
42:06Educators into censors and again and
42:09again we see targeted organized and
42:12replicated efforts to ban books with
42:14protagonists of color books about
42:16African-American history books about
42:18lgbtq identities efforts to take away
42:21the very books that many students
42:23families and Educators say they want to
42:25access
42:26books that they say save
42:30lives over the past two years I have
42:32spoken to teachers Librarians parents
42:35and students across the country the
42:37stories I've heard are dire some have
42:40experienced direct threats others have
42:42been told that if they teach certain
42:43subjects order certain books or fail to
42:46ban certain books it will put their
42:48career in Jeopardy or Worse will lead
42:50them to being charged with a crime I've
42:52spoken with authors whose Works have
42:54been mischaracterized and attacked over
42:56over 1,200 authors were affected by the
42:58bands in the past school year alone ask
43:00any of them why they write over and over
43:02they say the same reasons to help kids
43:05see themselves and allow others to be
43:06seen to provide kids the books they wish
43:09they had when they were growing up as
43:12poet Nikki Grim says to plant seeds of
43:14empathy and compassion that is what is
43:16at stake in today's movement to ban
43:19books whether we can live in a diverse
43:21society that upholds our traditions of
43:22freedom and democracy for us all or
43:25whether we want to allow a vocal
43:26minority with a discriminatory intent to
43:29narrow our students educational Horizons
43:31thank you Dr Freeman Well Done Right on
43:33the money so thank you so much for
43:35sharing your thoughts and ideas there'll
43:37be questions for you in just a minute uh
43:38let's go to uh Mr Max Eden uh welcome to
43:41the committee you are recognized for
43:42five minutes thank you chairman Bean
43:45ranking member bichi members of the
43:46subcommittee thank you for inviting me
43:48to testify my name is Max Eden and I'm a
43:51research fellow at the American
43:52Enterprise Institute for years now
43:54American parents have been slandered by
43:56left-wing advocacy organizations and the
43:58media as book banners my testimony today
44:02is simple books aren't being banned but
44:06many parents prefer that school
44:07libraries not stock pornographic
44:10materials and some school board members
44:13agree that this is reasonable now
44:15citizens who hear the word book ban can
44:17be forgiven for being alarmed
44:19unfortunately their alarm is not rooted
44:22in reality but rather in the Twisted
44:24abuse of the English language the media
44:26keeps using the word banned but that
44:28word doesn't mean what you think it
44:29means in common usage banned means made
44:33unavailable and of course the most
44:35banned book gender queer is still
44:37available on Amazon the conversation
44:40rather centers on school library
44:42availability if ban means made
44:44unavailable then virtually every book
44:46ever published has been banned but
44:48that's not even what that word means
44:49here indeed a book can be both banned
44:52and freely available to students the
44:55media has run with the Twisted
44:56definition of ban offered by pen America
45:00uh as Dr fredman said if a book is
45:01present on Monday pulled for review on
45:03Tuesday and then back on the shelves on
45:06Wednesday that book has according to
45:08them been banned if a parental
45:11permission requirement is placed on a
45:12book that book has allegedly been banned
45:16and if a book is moved to a guidance
45:18counselor's office that book has been
45:20banned it's a good thing that Orwell is
45:23still on offer to provide an account
45:26that isn't utterly linguistically
45:27dishonest the Heritage foundations J
45:29green Madison Marino and I set out to
45:31assess how many of the 2532 books that
45:34Penn's 2022 report labeled as banned
45:36were actually removed from school
45:38libraries we did this with one simple
45:40trick we checked the card cataloges as
45:43it turns out nearly three4 of the books
45:45that pen labeled as banned were still in
45:47school libraries you may have heard that
45:50books are being banned because of race
45:51or LGBT issues but that's not really
45:54true pen America labeled the black lives
45:57matter inspired the hate you give as the
45:59fifth most banned book A book that Miss
46:01bonabi referenced in her opening
46:03statements uh she will be relieved to
46:04hear that we found that book in every
46:06single School library present uh you've
46:09also heard that this is about LGBT
46:12issues but when the Washington Post
46:13examined over a thousand review requests
46:15made by parents less than 7% said LGBT
46:19without also using the word sexual
46:21although that those requests may have
46:23contained words like pornographic or obs
46:26and that's what this issue is really
46:28about the provision of sexually explicit
46:30material to children by public employees
46:34now this is a question of adult judgment
46:36Hustler has close-up genital photos and
46:39most believe this is not appropriate for
46:40school libraries Romeo and Juliet has
46:43lyrical Illusions to sex and most
46:46believe this is fine for school
46:47libraries a line must be drawn somewhere
46:50between those two points but where
46:52exactly take the previously mentioned
46:54gender queer that graphic novel famously
46:56includes a picture of oral sex being
46:58performed on a wearable sex toy is this
47:01okay for kids I've lost counted the
47:03number of times that parents have tried
47:05to read these Passages at school board
47:06meetings only to be cut off because
47:07Schoolboard members insist it's too
47:09obscene to be read out loud because you
47:11know kids could be listening if you
47:13examine the top 10 most actually removed
47:15books here's what you find gender queer
47:19orally inserting a wearable sex toy this
47:21book is gay a how-to guide for meeting
47:23strangers for sex on sex app
47:26out of Darkness rape later gator a
47:29discussion of the finer points of oral
47:30sex all boys aren't blue underage incest
47:34It's Perfectly Normal drawings of kids
47:36masturbating lawn booy 10-year-olds
47:38performing sodomy on each other Jack of
47:41Hearts disposing of a condom soiled from
47:43anal sex crank a meth fueled rape lucky
47:47rape no meth involved and a court of
47:51mist and fury which contains
47:52comparatively tame uh sexual intercourse
47:55the Department of education's office of
47:57civil rights is investigating and
47:58threatening to withdraw Federal funding
47:59from school districts that even think
48:01about removing these books for example
48:03the foresight School District in Georgia
48:05reevaluated me Earl and the Ian girl why
48:08well in one passage which I maybe
48:09shouldn't read verbatim one character
48:11asks another if he knows how to perform
48:12oral sex on a woman the other character
48:14replies no but that he has been taught
48:15by Papa Gans how to perform oral sex on
48:18an anus now if you're a Schoolboard
48:20member who thinks that maybe schools
48:21don't School libraries don't need
48:23reference to oral sex being performed on
48:25anuses uh you will be investigated by
48:27the B Department of Education and if
48:29you're a mom who believes that maybe
48:31reference to oral sex and anuses is
48:32inappropriate material for a school
48:33library you may be accused of being
48:36basically akin to a Nazi by an
48:38organization like pen America why is it
48:41exactly that leftwing nonprofits the
48:42media and the B Administration are so
48:44Keen to enforce stocking School
48:45libraries with this material I'm not
48:47quite sure but what I do know is it's
48:49perfectly reasonable for parents to not
48:51want this material and it's perfectly
48:52reasonable for Schoolboard members to
48:54meet their preferences Mr Eden thank you
48:56very much there'll be questions for you
48:57in just a moment too let's go to
49:00superintendent uh Dean Felder we're glad
49:02to have you here uh welcome and you're
49:04recognized for five minutes good morning
49:06thank you chairman Bean ranking member
49:08and committee for the opportunity to
49:10speak with you today my name is Megan
49:12degenfelder and I'm the elected State
49:14superintendent of Public Instruction for
49:16the state of Wyoming I ran for this
49:18position because I am passionate about
49:20public education as one of the most
49:23important tools of lifting people out of
49:25poverty and fulfilling the American
49:27dream the fundamental purpose of public
49:31education is to prepare students for
49:33jobs and to be good American citizens
49:36but this purpose becomes compromised
49:40when our parents lose trust and
49:42confidence in our public schools during
49:45the campaign I spoke with voters all
49:47across the state regarding their
49:49concerns of public education at the top
49:52of the list among all varying
49:54communities was fear of inappropriate
49:57and sexually explicit materials in
49:59schools this issue is destroying trust
50:03and confidence in our public education I
50:07met a mother whose teenage daughter
50:09approached her with a book she was
50:10uncomfortable with at school the mother
50:13rather than having a knee-jerk reaction
50:15and storming a school board meeting read
50:17the book herself what she found was
50:20appalling sexually depicted graphic acts
50:24as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse
50:27this mother was not only triggered by
50:29the book but also fearful that other
50:32minors reading this book may become
50:34conditioned to the material and not
50:36speak up if victims themselves when they
50:39asked the teacher to opt out of the book
50:42several other students spoke up almost
50:44immediately they too felt uncomfortable
50:47so what came of standing up against this
50:49book the teacher became their bully
50:53asking the child what the big deal was
50:55was and why she was pushing
50:58this this child now fears going to
51:01school and begs to attend virtual
51:04education her younger siblings will now
51:07be homeschooled because this parent has
51:10lost trust in public
51:13education is this happening with every
51:15teacher in every school of course not we
51:17have many incredible teachers and
51:20Librarians but there are books available
51:23paid for by taxpayers dollar with
51:26graphic depictions of sexual acts that
51:29are made available to minor children
51:32under the age of sexual consent I've
51:35included in your materials excerpts from
51:37Wyoming one of the most conservative
51:39states in the country mentioning details
51:42of this book feels wildly inappropriate
51:44in a congressional hearing but why then
51:47is it available to our
51:49children graphic and erotic images of
51:52any sexual orientation are not suit
51:55suable for minor children and are a
51:57complete misuse of taxpayer dollars it's
52:01common sense that a child should not
52:03have access to pornography while at
52:05school when did protecting our children
52:08become so
52:11controversial why do parents have to opt
52:13in for field trips and medical care but
52:15not sexually explicit materials we must
52:19understand that schools are temporary
52:22custodians they do not have free reign
52:25our parents do not seed their rights and
52:28responsibilities at the schoolhouse door
52:31there is absolutely no room for
52:34distractions or inappropriate influences
52:36when ACT scores are at a record low and
52:40the national average of students
52:42proficient or above on nape are only 26
52:45to
52:4735% so how do we solve this issue it
52:50certainly should not be left up to the
52:52federal government I respect local
52:54control control in government including
52:57authority of books and Curriculum by
53:00locally elected school boards however
53:03through our research we found that many
53:05districts do not have a robust system or
53:08policies in place for appropriate
53:10Library materials and they need support
53:13from the state level my Approach at the
53:15state level has become working with
53:17stakeholder groups to create Statewide
53:20Library guidance to be released in the
53:22coming weeks with sample definitions
53:24model policy and allowing for a
53:26transparent public process our committee
53:30includes parents Librarians School
53:32administrators Schoolboard members all
53:35of varying backgrounds and
53:37viewpoints this issue of sexually
53:40explicit material in schools must be
53:43addressed so that we can return our
53:45Focus to the fundamental purpose of
53:47education and regain trust in public
53:51education I will never stop fighting for
53:54the safety of of Wyoming children thank
53:56you well done all of our panelists are
53:59Allstar panelists Get an A+ for coming
54:01in on uh time if you're watching at home
54:03we're talking adult material here so uh
54:06uh a warning to all that are watching or
54:09here present uh I will yield myself uh
54:12five minutes for questions Dr Fox get
54:15ready I will yield uh extra time to you
54:17let's go with Miss
54:19Smith in Montgomery County Maryland when
54:23you have said this is wrong to School
54:25Board officials and other elected
54:26officials there how have they received
54:28you have they uh have you found them
54:30being welcoming and saying we're going
54:31to fix this problem or have they
54:33rebuffed you uh to be honest they don't
54:36like when I speak up because then other
54:37parents start getting involved um what
54:39we have seen since then has been
54:42thousands of parents coming to the board
54:44of educations Muslims Ethiopians you
54:47name it um and parents are just shocked
54:50and honestly appalled that we're even
54:52having these discussions at Board of
54:53Education mgy count is the richest
54:56county in the the US are we making
54:59progress in Montgomery County Maryland
55:01no sir I'm sorry to hear that let me go
55:03to the superintendent from Wyoming what
55:06do we want to take away what does the
55:08rest of the nation need to take away
55:10you're having success and Wyoming what
55:12does other states need to do Mr chairman
55:14I believe wholeheartedly in local
55:17control and decision making as close to
55:19the people as possible um but as I
55:21mentioned um knowing that Schoolboard
55:23members are made up of volunteers and
55:25and have um a heavy task ahead of them
55:27my my father served on our local school
55:28board we need to make sure that we
55:30provide support to them model policy and
55:32guidance from the state level and at the
55:34local level I think it's incredibly
55:36important to have transparency to have
55:39uh processes in place and to have public
55:41input those things are important and for
55:43our local schools and leaders to
55:45remember that again they cannot Step
55:47Beyond the bounds of the rights of
55:49parents thank you very much and Mr Eden
55:51what's a better definition you've
55:52already said uh others have wild
55:55definitions of what ban means what is
55:57what is a real definition of ban that
55:59you want to put forth that we should
56:01consider yeah I mean I think a book
56:03could be considered ban when you are no
56:04longer able to access it and uh that's
56:07simply not the case we're just talking
56:09about what's appropriate for uh children
56:12correct and and as I mentioned about
56:14three4 of the books that are allegedly
56:16bound are actually still in school
56:18libraries amen amen thank you very much
56:20uh I yield the remaining three minutes
56:22to uh our chairman Dr Fox
56:27recognized uh thank you Mr chairman and
56:29I want to thank all of our Witnesses for
56:31being here today to discuss this very
56:35timely uh subject it's something very
56:39very important to the American people Mr
56:42fredman I have a quick question for you
56:46do you condemn
56:50Hamas uh yes I do thank you very much
56:54I'm glad we agree on that Mr chairman I
56:57will yield back to you I appreciate that
57:00thank you very much thank you very much
57:02uh the committee will now yield uh uh
57:05time to ranking member banamichi for
57:07questions you're recogniz thank you Mr
57:09chairman uh before I begin I want to
57:10introduce into the record two letters
57:12one from the American Library
57:14Association pointing out among other
57:16things that a parent does not have a
57:17right to restrict through government
57:19action what another parent's child may
57:21choose to read which would intrude on
57:23the other parents right to decide for
57:24their own child and another letter from
57:26the penguin random house uh opposing uh
57:29censorship without objection so so Mr
57:32chairman we're we're nine months into
57:33this Congress and many of our colleagues
57:35uh on the on your side of the aisle
57:37continue to focus on culture War issues
57:39rather than working together on
57:40bipartisan solutions that support Public
57:42Schools students parents and Educators
57:46by uplifting extremist efforts to ban
57:49books rewrite curricula and silence
57:51diverse perspectives uh that denies
57:54students in their families an inclusive
57:55representative education that allows
57:58students to become critical thinkers and
57:59the next generation of problem solvers
58:01who will lead our nation uh we do not
58:03need more efforts that turn parents
58:05against Educators or transfer taxpayer
58:07dollars to private schools or attempt to
58:09extinguish the rights of lgbtq students
58:12Dr fredman I want to start by setting
58:13the record straight there have been some
58:15allegations that pan America's
58:17statistics on book bands are inaccurate
58:19or inflated so please clarify the
58:21accuracy of your organization's
58:23information data and research methods
58:25sure I'd be happy to um you know I do a
58:29lot of work on education trying to help
58:31people understand freedom of speech and
58:34I think one of the aspects that is so
58:36troubling about this moment is that a
58:39fundamental Freedom that belongs to us
58:41all is being misunderstood
58:44misrepresented and and twisted um and
58:47our definitions with regard to the
58:49Banning of books and the restrictions in
58:51schools is Tethered very tightly to
58:54clear First Amendment Juris Prudence
58:56numerous decisions uh uh in in the
58:59history of this country that honestly
59:01they haven't been up for debate in half
59:03a century you know the idea that um
59:06schools have to conduct themselves in
59:09accordance with the Transcendent
59:11imperatives of the first amendment that
59:14um uh you know no official high or Petty
59:18should be prescribing which should be
59:19Orthodox uh in public institutions and
59:22so with regard to our data it is based
59:24on news reports it is based on scanning
59:27board minutes our data is completely
59:29transparent and critically our data is a
59:31snapshot in time so if we are saying
59:35these books were banned in 2122 school
59:38year we are tracking the range of
59:40prohibitions and the reason we are doing
59:42that is because the range of
59:44prohibitions is wildly unprecedented pen
59:47America has been doing work on book
59:48bands for on and off a 100 years as
59:51these issues have flared up and I can
59:53tell you that 3 years ago four years ago
59:55there was nothing like this on the scene
59:57you know when uh a a new a story would
1:00:00come out about a book band somewhere in
1:00:01the country it rarely commanded this
1:00:03attention but something changed a
1:00:05movement to uh encourage people to try
1:00:08to censor information and ideas try to
1:00:11get another question into Dr fredman you
1:00:13I just think back think was in the mid
1:00:151960s when Justice Potter Stewart said I
1:00:17know it when I see it for you know what
1:00:19is porography I mean there there's so
1:00:21many different definitions and who's
1:00:23defining I think as part of problem
1:00:25Republicans talk about the danger of
1:00:27exposing students to books they deem
1:00:29inappropriate because of their personal
1:00:30values or preferences but we really need
1:00:32to highlight the danger of ignoring or
1:00:34Worse erasing history by removing uh
1:00:37School library books that portray
1:00:39representations of marginalized people
1:00:41culture experiences books like homegoing
1:00:44uh and The Kite Runner those are
1:00:45outstanding modern-day works of
1:00:47historical fiction uh books like all
1:00:49boys aren't blue a captivating Memoir
1:00:52it's affirming for young lgbtq readers
1:00:54especially those who are black as they
1:00:56establish their identity and grow up in
1:00:57a world that can be unforgiving and
1:00:59discriminatory and I think about the
1:01:01Spanish American philosopher George
1:01:02Santi an who wrote back in 1905 in the
1:01:06life of reason those who cannot remember
1:01:07the past are condemned to repeat it so
1:01:10uh Dr Freedman how important is it for
1:01:12students to have access to a wide
1:01:13variety of books from which they can
1:01:15learn about the world before them and
1:01:17the world around them oh it's absolutely
1:01:19critical and um those are the kinds of
1:01:21works that we have seen under attack
1:01:23sometimes directly through challenges
1:01:25other times almost carelessly you know
1:01:27somebody gets a list of books and isn't
1:01:29even checking it and just issues a
1:01:31Prohibition on uh everything on the list
1:01:33and doesn't even realize that that book
1:01:35uh that that list of I don't know 400
1:01:37books contains um picture books for
1:01:40children biographies of uh uh uh
1:01:42historical figures of color in American
1:01:44history I mean that is what we are
1:01:46facing right now and it is critical that
1:01:48we stand up to it thank you and and just
1:01:50for each witness just yes or no please
1:01:52because I'm about out of time is it
1:01:54important for students to have access to
1:01:56a school library that includes books
1:01:58from authors and on topics spanning
1:02:01different cultures backgrounds
1:02:03identities and perspectives yes
1:02:05ma'am Dr fedman is that important yes
1:02:08absolutely yes yes thank you very much
1:02:11and I yield back the balance of my time
1:02:13thank you very much uh ranking member
1:02:15bonami let's go to Utah where uh Mr
1:02:17Owens Burgess Owens you're recognized
1:02:19for questions thank you thank you so
1:02:21much Mr chairman and um and your guests
1:02:23and Witnesses
1:02:25some say that we are here today talk
1:02:26about so-called bookm burning in k k
1:02:29through2 School libraries one of our
1:02:31nation's most consequential books
1:02:34Banning was done by Supreme Court in
1:02:371963 when officially mandated Bible
1:02:39reading this book is banned from all of
1:02:43us anything that deals with Federal
1:02:45that's no longer can see it can no
1:02:46longer read it matter of fact there some
1:02:48that are listening today probably think
1:02:49this is totally unconstitutional I can
1:02:51even hold it
1:02:52up due to the banding of this book
1:02:55Generations of Americans today have no
1:02:57knowledge of the tenants upon which this
1:02:58country has been founded tenants based
1:03:00on the belief that with God in time we
1:03:02can truly become a more perfect union
1:03:04they band the knowledge of basic truths
1:03:06of Happiness like the J Christian
1:03:08concepts of the golden rule which says
1:03:11we should treat others the way we want
1:03:12to be treated or ban the knowledge of
1:03:14Ten Commandments among these thou shall
1:03:16not steal steal thou sh not kill th
1:03:18shall not commit adultery Thou shalt
1:03:20honor thy thy father and th mother we
1:03:23instead find the greatest disdain for
1:03:25these laws wherever Democrats rule we
1:03:28find the Banning of parents for school
1:03:30school board meetings we find where
1:03:33Democrats rule we find the Banning of
1:03:35parents from knowledge of the mental
1:03:37state of their
1:03:39children wherever Democrats rule we find
1:03:41the Banning of knowledge of what other
1:03:43adults strangers are doing to sexualize
1:03:46our kids here's a sample of books that
1:03:49Democrats the National Library
1:03:50Association demand that we do not ban
1:03:54gender queer features pictures of oral
1:03:56sex performed on sex toys this book is
1:03:59gay provides a how-to guide for
1:04:01strangers to for sex on gay sex apps out
1:04:05of the darkness contains rape lucky
1:04:07contains rape all boys aren't blue
1:04:10contains underage incests Lawnboy
1:04:13contains a Passages of 10 year boys
1:04:15performing oral sex on each other these
1:04:18books are available to school a children
1:04:21and there's no shame from those who say
1:04:23this is not
1:04:25right I am very proud of the engagement
1:04:28of the parents who not recognize the rot
1:04:29and filth that's being pushed in all
1:04:31innocence the our vulnerable children
1:04:34there's a reason why the the two words
1:04:36too young are never spoken by those who
1:04:39have no respect for parents their
1:04:41children or the family unit defined by
1:04:43God to raise and protect them last year
1:04:46Utah passed HB 374 bill that prohibits
1:04:50child excess to pornography and our
1:04:52school systems because in Utah we get
1:04:54get it right we care more about our kids
1:04:56and an
1:04:57ideology bills have been passed to
1:04:59protect children from internet
1:05:01pornography and schools but students
1:05:02need the same protection from books a
1:05:04republican majority this year passed hr5
1:05:07the parents Bill of Rights that protects
1:05:09CH uh students and assures parents of
1:05:11their rights to know what books are in
1:05:13school libraries not one of my
1:05:15Democratic friends voted yes not one
1:05:20moving forward our republ moving forward
1:05:21our Republican majority will work to
1:05:23stop the rment of children in
1:05:25institutions who prioritize sexual
1:05:27indoctrination instead of Reading
1:05:30Writing thinking and
1:05:31succeeding every child regardless of
1:05:34city state ZIP code should have the
1:05:37right for educational Freedom as release
1:05:40the power of the free market and
1:05:41meritocracy parents will have the the
1:05:44civil rights to access a quality
1:05:45education for their for their
1:05:48child
1:05:49um Miss Smith uh one of the things you
1:05:52mentioned uh that library books uh don't
1:05:54stay in the library sh on the shelves
1:05:57that they can be used directly for
1:05:59school curriculum is is this correct and
1:06:01what is the implication of how this uh
1:06:04might be used for inappropriate content
1:06:07yes sir actually my second grader last
1:06:09year was readed one of these books off
1:06:10the shelf um and he was very
1:06:12uncomfortable and actually had to leave
1:06:14the library and asked to go to the
1:06:16bathroom because he was uncomfortable I
1:06:17don't think we should ever put a
1:06:18seven-year-old in that predicament I
1:06:20think that we need to start thinking
1:06:23about that these books shouldn't be
1:06:25available to these kids in the first
1:06:27place and for a seven-year-old to be
1:06:28bold enough to actually walk out that we
1:06:30shouldn't even put a kid in that
1:06:31situation in the first place thank you
1:06:33uh Mr Eden uh we've talked a lot about
1:06:35book removal um what do you know uh what
1:06:39I'd like to know is how do these books
1:06:41get into school's libraries in the first
1:06:42place yeah um they get in in large part
1:06:46innocently enough on the behalf of
1:06:47school librarians who look at a list and
1:06:49see that certain titles are recommended
1:06:51as being LGBT inclusive and so they
1:06:54purchase the books um they're looking at
1:06:56lists from organizations such as the
1:06:57American Library Association which at
1:06:59this point is a wholly ideological
1:07:01organization run by a self-proclaimed
1:07:03Marxist who has said that school
1:07:05libraries need to be sites of socialist
1:07:07organizing so there's an agenda uh in
1:07:10terms of what's presented school to
1:07:11school librarians school librarians take
1:07:14that agenda possibly innocently un first
1:07:16and then are surprised and defensive
1:07:18when they find that they're being
1:07:19objected to and that's kind of how we're
1:07:21here today thank you I'm weing going our
1:07:23time just say um uh Dr Freeman you made
1:07:26the strongest case I can think of of
1:07:28what we need to have educational Choice
1:07:30freedom because there are people like
1:07:31yourself who will look at facts and
1:07:33studies and try to convince all of us
1:07:34the parents don't know better what's for
1:07:36their own children this is a fundamental
1:07:39Concept in our country parents have the
1:07:41rights to make sure their kids is
1:07:42educated not the way other people want
1:07:44particularly comes to sexual content but
1:07:46the way we want thank you I thank you Mr
1:07:48Owens thank you very much let's go to
1:07:50Arizona where Mr Gava is recognized for
1:07:535 minutes questions thank you very much
1:07:55Mr chairman as a as a former Schoolboard
1:07:58member that spent 12 years on a school
1:08:01board in uh with Tucson unified back
1:08:04home
1:08:06uh the importance of public schools and
1:08:09in particular uh the value of libraries
1:08:12and the value of a a
1:08:15diverse uh opportunity for all students
1:08:18to be able to access information and to
1:08:21be able to uh to learn and then that
1:08:26that's the environment that and the
1:08:27values that I uh learned being a
1:08:30Schoolboard member they represent the
1:08:32values of this country and and and I
1:08:35think access is the most important thing
1:08:37and the other important thing is uh
1:08:39we're protecting all the uh protecting
1:08:42the children that attend those
1:08:44schools and treating those children uh
1:08:48with the importance that they deserve
1:08:50and the teachers and one of the things
1:08:52that I see is that erosion of that
1:08:55public institution and part of it is uh
1:08:58trying to control what people read and
1:09:00don't read and and one of the one of the
1:09:04things I was going to ask you Dr freedan
1:09:07and I think that is a huge threat to
1:09:08public education part of this whole
1:09:10dismantling agenda that goes around
1:09:13about our Public Schools um I wanted to
1:09:17ask you a question Dr
1:09:19fredman and thank you for your testimony
1:09:21I represent I represented that school
1:09:23district
1:09:24and and much of of the traditional and
1:09:27and because it was uh predominantly of
1:09:30color the community that I represent now
1:09:33and that and the school district was
1:09:35then was very significantly of
1:09:37color and traditional academic cannons
1:09:42did did not reach uh those
1:09:46students we've the lit the curriculum
1:09:50didn't reflect them the books didn't
1:09:53reflect them
1:09:54and the subjects and characters uh
1:09:56didn't look like the students that were
1:09:58going to those schools can you just
1:10:00explain expand briefly upon the
1:10:03potential impacts of banning books you
1:10:06know in Florida Roberto Clemente I mean
1:10:09he's a God and uh that was put aside for
1:10:12a while uh certain poetry our
1:10:16superintendent of public education in
1:10:18Arizona Tom Horn feels that we shouldn't
1:10:21talk about race at all because it
1:10:23affects some and that way we don't have
1:10:26to talk about history because it it's
1:10:30part of the story and uh so my question
1:10:34is tell them how it impacts students in
1:10:38communities uh yeah our schools are
1:10:42becoming more diverse and research shows
1:10:44that young people are going to be more
1:10:46engaged in learning in schools when
1:10:49their libraries um and the books that
1:10:51they have already access to reflect
1:10:53their identities reflect their families
1:10:55reflect a range of their life
1:10:57experiences um deal with the
1:10:59complexities of the lives that they're
1:11:01living um and the purpose of a library
1:11:05is in fact to be that kind of Wellspring
1:11:07of information uh that's what school
1:11:10librarians are charged with doing
1:11:11they're not charged with exercising a
1:11:13kind of censorious mindset about how
1:11:16different people in the community might
1:11:17feel about one content or other they're
1:11:20charged with producing a robust diverse
1:11:22collection and
1:11:24that's what's critical yeah and I think
1:11:26and I asked that question because the
1:11:28efforts at least uh at in my home state
1:11:32and led by the superintendent then and
1:11:34now again superintendent
1:11:37uh has to do more with the discussion
1:11:41today is about protecting children the
1:11:44title from
1:11:45explicit um sexual
1:11:48content
1:11:50but content is also the issue and and
1:11:53and and can you talk about examples
1:11:56where Banning has to do with the content
1:11:59about what you disagree with an idea a
1:12:03point of view uh versus trying to twist
1:12:08ourselves into a Pressel to try to fit
1:12:11the Pico uh decision in terms of a
1:12:13definition of banning yeah um I think
1:12:17it's just quite clear and you really
1:12:19cannot separate um the facts of what's
1:12:21been going on around the country the
1:12:22past years in terms of how many stories
1:12:26there are of people who are trying to
1:12:27remove books and being successful at
1:12:29removing books that are about um black
1:12:32stories by black authors about lgbtq
1:12:34lives you cannot pretend that is not
1:12:36happening there are stories in the news
1:12:37there was a story just this week in Iowa
1:12:40about hundreds of books being removed
1:12:42under one of these laws um and that's
1:12:44been the theme for the past two
1:12:47years de back Mr
1:12:50chairman uh thank you very much uh sadly
1:12:53we're out of time I want to thank each
1:12:55of our panelists for our Allstar
1:12:57panelists you did not disappoint how
1:12:59about that each of you has added to this
1:13:01uh conversation I want to uh say that
1:13:04for any member who W who wishes to
1:13:07submit uh questions for the record
1:13:09please submit them to the committee
1:13:10clerk electronically by November 2nd
1:13:132023 uh I'll yield time to ranking
1:13:16member bonami any final thoughts before
1:13:18we adjourn thank you Mr chairman I think
1:13:21this is an important discussion but I
1:13:23but I want to also share uh some words
1:13:25from the award-winning children's author
1:13:28Judy Bloom she said I believe that
1:13:30censorship grows out of fear and because
1:13:32fear is contagious some parents are
1:13:33easily swayed book Banning satisfies
1:13:36their need to feel in control of their
1:13:38children's lives this fear is often
1:13:40disguised as moral outrage they want to
1:13:42believe that if their children don't
1:13:43read about it their children won't know
1:13:45about it and if they don't know about it
1:13:47it won't happen uh Mr chairman this is
1:13:49an important issue uh yeah we we have
1:13:52freedom of of speech in this country but
1:13:55we also have freedom of religion my
1:13:57colleague with the Bible I'm not sure
1:13:59what where he was going with that uh but
1:14:01we need to continue this conversation
1:14:03but we also need to get back to doing
1:14:05what's best for children let's talk
1:14:07about the schools where they don't even
1:14:08have a library let's focus on that uh
1:14:11and work together uh finally Mr chairman
1:14:14I I just want to point out the um what I
1:14:16mentioned about how people have
1:14:18different definitions there is a school
1:14:20I believe in Florida where uh a teacher
1:14:22was sanctioned for showing students
1:14:25pictures of the stat Michelangelo's
1:14:27famous statue of David um that is
1:14:29bordering on the Absurd Mr chairman uh
1:14:32so I I I just want to thank the the
1:14:34witnesses and and uh uh we can all agree
1:14:37um that that we need to do what's best
1:14:40for our students uh let's continue the
1:14:42conversations about how we get there and
1:14:43I Y back thank you very much uh here's
1:14:45our takeaways uh inappropriate content
1:14:47is a real problem all of our Witnesses
1:14:50really uh testified I know we have
1:14:51different angles of how we uh come to
1:14:53the solution uh Wyoming should be one of
1:14:56our leaders to let local control I
1:14:58believe local control is is one of the
1:15:00answers the Biden administration's book
1:15:04Banning Zar is a real threat and
1:15:07hopefully uh we'll still allow local
1:15:09control for school boards uh each of you
1:15:12traveled a long way and you've added to
1:15:13the conversation to uh ranking member
1:15:15thank you for a great uh committee today
1:15:18and with that there no being no further
1:15:20business before us this committee is
1:15:22adjourned

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