'Dangerous' bill inviting government censorship passes House committee

Washington - In response to the March 17 Committee on Education and Workforce hearing, American Library Association President Sam Helmick issued the following statement on H.R. 7661, a bill that threatens funding promised by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 from any school that develops, implements, facilitates, hosts or promotes any program or activity for, or provides or promotes literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that include “sexually oriented material”:

“H.R. 7661 is a dangerous bill that steals the power to choose what kids read away from parents, local communities and well-trained educators and librarians, and gives it to politicians in Washington, D.C. Congress is not authorized to make decisions about what kids read in school, and it is not allowed to interfere with the rights of states and communities to control their own schools.  

“ALA is disappointed that the Committee on Education and Workforce is pressing forward with this sweeping attempt to stifle students’ education and steal funds from the nation’s schools. Representatives from both sides of the aisle raised concerns about the vague, confusing and overbroad language in the bill. The unclear language in H.R. 7661 would make it a catastrophe for states to administer, forcing educators and librarians to remove a large, amorphous collection of materials to keep funding that they’ve depended on for over sixty years. 

“H.R. 7661 is not about what is best for children. It treats seventeen-year-olds the same as kindergartners and could starve schools of support if they happen to have any material that politicians claim is “sexually oriented,” including fine art, dancing, history lessons, court cases – and even Virginia’s state flag. The exception for “classical art” is a smokescreen for discrimination against any form of artistic expression that does not comply with an ideology that denies the stories and personhood of certain groups of people, especially LGBTQIA+ people. 

“Courts across the nation have declared that banning particular viewpoints is against the law. They have also affirmed the bedrock principle of U.S. law that students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. The federal intrusion into local government leaves school districts open to expensive lawsuits and distracts from vital literacy education.

“H.R. 7661 should not become the law of the land in a nation where people value civil rights and oppose government censorship. ALA continues to urge advocates to call their members of Congress at the Capitol switchboard (202.224.3121) and ask them to oppose H.R. 7661 and, instead, to support the Right to Read Act (H.R.6440 / S. 3365), which would provide much-needed funding to schools to ensure school libraries are well-resourced and well-staffed.”

Advocates can find resources for local organizing through Unite Against Book Bans, which connects, equips and mobilizes the public to advocate in their communities for the right to read and defeat attempts at every level of government to censor reading material. 

About the American Library Association 
The American Library Association is the largest non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to America’s libraries. The ALA mission is to empower and advocate for all libraries and library workers to ensure equitable access to information for all. For 150 years, ALA has provided resources for information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more information, visit www.ala.org.