HARRISBURG – The PA Senate approved a bill with bipartisan support to empower parents to protect their children from accessing sexually explicit content at school, without impacting the books available to other students. Senate Bill 7 would make parents aware of the content in their child’s school and give them the ability to limit their child’s access to such content. The bill is the result of a two-year process that involved listening to the concerns of parents, school administrators, teachers, and librarians in an effort to draft a proposal that made all sides feel heard and respected. Senate Bill 7 requires schools to identify sexually explicit content in school curriculum, materials, and books; create an opt-in policy that would notify parents of the sexually explicit content by including a list of the book titles on the form, give parents the opportunity to review the materials, require parents to give direct consent for their children to have access to sexually explicit content; and provide the child with non-explicit alternatives if their parents do not opt-in. Bill sponsor, Lancaster County Sen. Ryan Aument says caring parents will take a stand against such content. Opponents label the bill a book ban, although the language in the bill states that no books are banned. The bill now goes to the PA House for consideration.
SEN. RYAN AUMENT