State Republican Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Target "Obscene" Materials in School Libraries

Friday, June 23rd, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(By Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) Republican lawmakers are proposing a bill that would target "obscene" materials in school libraries and overturn a law that protects public and private school employees from prosecution for distributing the materials.  

According to Corrinne Hess with Wisconsin Public Radio, a companion bill would prohibit a school district from using school library aid money to purchase any item that could be considered obscene.

State Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, who co-sponsored both bills, said the state holds the "burden of responsibility" to make sure schools aren’t pushing obscenity limits. Obscenity will be determined by state statute, Allen said.

The state obscenity law describes various types of sexual conduct and says the acts depicted must be "patently offensive by contemporary community standards." The material also must lack "serious literary, artistic, political, educational or scientific value."

Currently, it is a crime to import, print, sell, possess for sale, publish, exhibit, play or distribute any obscene material. But librarians, elementary, secondary and private school teachers are exempt.

The companion bill would change that. Kyle Davis has a son going into sixth grade at Golda Meir School and a son going into first grade at Clement Avenue School, both part of Milwaukee Public Schools.

Davis said he has never been worried and does not believe anything at a school library would qualify as obscene. He said he believes lawmakers are trying to oppress free speech, and should let teachers decide what materials are best for students.

"They are highly trained individuals who are doing their job," Davis said. "They are getting material for whatever age group they are working with and they should not be prosecuted for doing their job."

The country started to see a surge in effort to ban books in schools and public libraries in 2021, particularly with restrictions to books containing LGBTQ+ and racial content. That effort has continued.

There were 1,477 instances of books banned across the country in the first half of the 2022-23 school year, according to the nonprofit PEN America. Of those, 30 percent were about race, racism or featured a person of color. Twenty-five percent had LGBTQ+ characters or themes.

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