FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) – The Kentucky House is taking up a bill targeting controversial books in schools.
The Senate passed the measure in late February, where the bill would require school boards to adopt a complaint policy for parents over books or events they consider harmful to their child. More specifically, Senate Bill 5 considers “harmful” things like nudity or sexual descriptions in an obscene manner.
Opponents of the bill spoke to lawmakers in committee about their concerns over first amendment rights and broad definitions in the bill that could potentially target the LGBTQ community.
Supporters said it’s not about banning books but removing graphic sexual content from schools.
“To prevent my parents from finding out the things that I was reading,” said Mason Chernosky, an opposer of Senate Bill 5. “A lot of times I borrowed those books from my school library. The acceptance that I saw in those books was so important for me as a child, and I want every child all across Kentucky to have the same access to those books.”
“We’re not talking about the little second-grade books that talk about two daddies,” said supporter Laura O’Brien. “We’re talking about graphic, violent, sexually inappropriate books that do not need to be in there. These are our tax dollars. Why are we spending money on this to show our kids that?”
The bill passed committee on a party-line vote of 16-4 Monday and is now set to be voted on by the full House.
