(NewsNation) — A proposal from Georgia lawmakers would make school librarians subject to criminal charges if sexually explicit books are placed in libraries.
Critics say the effort amounts to book banning and that it’s a campaign of censorship meant to block children’s freedom to learn while scaring teachers and librarians into silence for fear of losing their jobs or worse.
The proposal to make school librarians subject to criminal penalties if they violate state obscenity laws, Senate Bill 154, has been seen as controversial. Current law exempts public librarians, as well as those who work for public schools, colleges and universities, from penalties for distributing material that meets Georgia’s legal definition of “harmful to minors.”
Another proposal would allow parents to subscribe to email notifications on what books their child checks out from the library. The state Senate Education and Youth Committee voted 5-4 Tuesday to advance Senate Bill 365 to the full Senate for more debate.
“I can’t understand the resistance of allowing parents to know what their children are seeing, doing and participating in while they’re at school, especially in a public school system,” said Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, a Dahlonega Republican.
Opponents said it’s important for students to be able to explore their interests and that the bill could violate students’ First Amendment rights.
Georiga senators are also considering another bill that would force all public and school libraries to cut ties with the American Library Association (ALA).
The ALA responded, saying it strongly opposes the proposed Georgia legislation.
“All organizations should be concerned about this arbitrary effort to restrict the freedom of trade, speech and freedom to associate,” the ALA said.
The Georgia measures are part of a broad and continuing push by Republicans in many states to root out what they see as inappropriate material from schools and libraries, saying books and electronic materials are corrupting children.
Georgia could join a growing list of conservative states that have severed ties with the ALA, including Alabama, Wyoming, Texas and Florida.
Since the start of the year, lawmakers in at least 13 states have proposed legislation that targets library services, going after explicit materials. This follows a record-setting year for book bans on titles centered on topics like race, gender identity and sexual orientation.
Next week marks the deadline in which these proposals need to pass in their respect committees in order to move forward.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.