On March 17th, the House Committee on Education and Workforce voted in favor of H.R. 7661, a government censorship bill that would block federal funds for any material that is “sexually oriented.”
The bill uses such a broad, confusing definition of “sexually oriented” that the mere mention of nudity could qualify, which could impact health, art, and science education. In addition, the bill’s language targets LGBTQIA+ individuals and families, and prohibits any reference to transgender people.
H.R. 7661 is a dangerous bill that grabs the power to choose what kids read away from parents, local communities, and well-trained educators and librarians, and then gives it to politicians in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Congress is not authorized to make decisions about what kids read in school, nor does it have the right to interfere with states’ and communities’ control of their own schools.
H.R. 7661 should not become the law of the land, because we value civil rights and oppose government censorship. Instead, the Right to Read Act (S.3365/H.R.6440) offers a better path by supporting well-staffed and well-resourced school libraries, strengthening evidence-based literacy education, and protecting library workers.
Tell your representative to vote NO on House Bill 7661 and to support the right to read instead!
