Home Education Concerned Parents, Teachers Drawn To Statehouse By Senator Tomes Controversial Education...

Concerned Parents, Teachers Drawn To Statehouse By Senator Tomes Controversial Education Bill

1

Concerned Parents, Teachers Drawn To Statehouse BY Senator Tomes Controversial Education Bill

(author of the bill, Sen. James Tomes, R-Wadesville, the bill “removes the word education as a defense)
  • Gage Deiser, TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS— An Indiana Senate committee heard hours of conflicting testimony Wednesday at the Statehouse regarding a controversial “harmful materials for minors” bill.

Vanessa Martin, director of Greensburg/Decatur County Public Library, spoke at the Senate Education and Career Development hearing. She voiced her opposition to SB 17 and advocated for the local request systems already in place. The Senate Education and Career Development Committee heard multiple bills in its meeting, with Senate Bill 17 drawing the most attention and testimony.

SB 17 allows for K-12 schools and public libraries to be prosecuted for books and other materials deemed to be harmful, including obscenity, pornography, or violence.  According to the author of the bill, Sen. James Tomes, R-Wadesville, the bill “removes the word education as a defense.” In other words, a school or library would be unable to claim that the alleged obscenity in a book is “educational.
The testimonial portion of the hearing highlighted the growing divide in the state regarding education, as many concerned parents voiced their support for more control over what media their children are absorbing while many teachers and librarians spoke out against the bill as a limit on individual and institutional freedoms.

Parent Brett Carpenter explained his support of the bill by saying, “I am not for censorship, but I am for discretion.” He argued the bill would protect children from needlessly obscene media in schools and on library shelves.

Kelly Ehinger, director for Adams Public Library System, explained her opposition to the bill: “Because libraries serve all people, not everyone will be interested or like everything at the library.” Her opposition also rested on her belief that current, local policies in place for parents to request material removal are sufficient.

Chris Mitchell, an affiliate for the nonprofit IN Library Federation, also spoke in opposition to SB 17. His main concern regarded the potential for varying parental opinions to have the ability to launch felony charges against staff of schools and libraries.

FOOTNOTE  Gage Deiser is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

1 COMMENT

  1. Tomes feigns being a champion of individual rights when it comes to carrying a gun on your hip. But, when it comes to the rest of the Constitution and Bill Of Rights he is blind and illiterate. Former Supreme Court Justice, Potter Stewart had a hard time determining what was obscene but “know it when I see it.” Essentially, this bill would require submitting to the most conservative of notions about what is art or obscene and might require that libraries and schools in Indiana face felonies for offering citizens and students many of the classics. And the Republican Party claims to be against “cancel culture.” Ha. Such hypocrisy.

Comments are closed.