Booksology The Committee passed HR 7661 with recommendations. The bill will now be debated in the plenary session of the House of Representatives.
HR 7661 is not only an anti-LGBTQ+ bill written within the framework of right-wing anti-trans priorities, it is also a bill aimed at promoting school choice. This would be a unique opportunity to promote and expand the federal voucher system, which steals money from public institutions so that the wealthy can use taxpayer money to pay for private and home education for their students. HR 7661 applies only to public institutions and paves the way for lawmakers to tell their public schools that if they don’t like what’s happening, they can choose something else.
At the time of the increase, one representative said that if schools don’t want to follow the law, they don’t have to, they’ll just lose federal funding. This sums up everything that intellectual and educational freedom advocates have been warning about for five years, all leading up to the goal of defunding public schools.
literary activism
In addition to the news available, we also include tips and tools to combat censorship and other bookish activities.
While this vote and the debate surrounding the bill was deeply concerning, the fight to end the bill is far from over. There are several actions anyone can take right now to ensure that HR 7661, which bans “sexually oriented material,” including material depicting “gender dysphoria or transgenderism” or “obscene or obscene dancing” (which is, frankly, drugs), is defeated on the House floor. You are welcome and encouraged to contact your senators about this issue, but our immediate focus is on the House of Commons.
- The House is in session next week, but the bill is not yet on the House calendar, and the agenda for the next three business days has not yet been announced. Lawmakers are scheduled to enter a district work period from March 30 to April 13, meaning action on HR 7661 may not be taken for more than a month. Start or continue contacting your Congressman by phone or email today. If the bill is on the calendar next week, please continue to communicate through that channel. If your bill isn’t on next week’s calendar, take the time to find out where your congressman will be holding district forums, meetings, town halls, or office hours, then go before them in person. Ask questions about the bill and voice your concerns.
- If you don’t know what to say to your agent, 5 Calls’ easy-to-use script is available here.
- If you are a member of the House Education and Labor Committee that introduced the bill yesterday, please take the time to contact your Congressman. If your representative votes against the bill, thank them. If your contact has provided corrections or feedback, which you can see in the link above, please feel free to comment on them. If your representatives vote to advance the bill, let them know that they have failed their community. Let me remind you that they work for the voters, not the party. Below are images of those who voted to pass the bill.
In addition to the available script and background above, yesterday’s committee meeting raised several additional points to keep in mind regarding this bill. You can use any combination of these when calling a representative. It may also be worth changing your approach when contacting them.
- First, the bill goes too far in the power Congress has to determine school curriculum. The bill would deny public schools access to federal funds if they offer curriculum or materials related to “sexual orientation materials,” including materials about gender as a concept or transgender people. Since the bill itself is very vague, it is clear that this would include a broader range of LGBTQ+ books.
- In addition to restricting substances, the bill also specifies what constitutes a suitable copyrighted work. These works are titles included in two lists: Encyclopedia of the World’s Great Books from 36 years ago and Compass Classroom, a homeschool curriculum. In an administration that believes education is a national problem and is actively trying to dismantle the Department of Education, this bill would not only say the opposite, it would give the federal government a way to dictate exactly what young people can and cannot learn in the classroom. It is not the duty of Congress. (Note: Mary Miller, who authored this bill, homeschooled her children and was given a nice promotion to a curriculum she liked.)
- Last year, the Supreme Court ruled: Mahmoud vs. Taylor. The ruling gives parents the right to choose from a public school curriculum they don’t like. H.R. 7661, which Miller has repeatedly referred to as a bill that would give parents control over what their children have access to in public schools (“parental rights”), is already implemented based on a Supreme Court ruling. However, while Mahmoud gives each parent or guardian a choice regarding access to student information, HR 7661 strips most parents of the right to determine their students’ access to educational materials by imposing blanket restrictions on all students. This bill disenfranchises parents and students who disagree with particularly harmful and hateful agendas.
- Speaking of the Supreme Court, in 1973, the court established a federal standard for defining “obscenity” through a three-pronged mirror test. This has been used to determine whether material is “obscene” and therefore illegal. The bill, like many state-level attempts to restrict books, avoids using “obscenity” as a basis. Instead, the vague and ill-defined term “sexually explicit material” is used, allowing those in power to decide what does and does not fit the definition. HR 7661 already notes that major religious texts are not subject to the law, even though they contain content that qualifies as “sexually explicit material.” But what about books about adolescence, the developmental period in which middle school students actively live? There is no mention of the mirror test in the bill.
- The bill does not recognize the difference between kindergarten and high school students. This is an anti-intellectual bill, aimed at flattening the developmental and educational needs of young people. Educators and librarians are allowed to work in these classrooms and buildings because they are experts in understanding the different needs of students. This bill undermines that expertise and turns those experts into the enemies our children must protect from.
- With pointed references to Epstein and the federal government’s current efforts to protect known and documented pedophiles, an amendment to the bill that would have allowed schools to have and teach age-appropriate materials about sexual abuse and child trafficking was defeated, further highlighting who is considered fully human and worthy of protection in the United States and who is not. Political parties that claim to “stop the sexualization of children” do not want to actually work to protect children.
- Several representatives of color noted that the bill would mean historical atrocities would no longer be taught in schools. This includes covering up the sexual exploitation of black women throughout American history. Several amendments that would have ensured recognition of historical truth under the bill were defeated, making it clear that the bill would deny education in the mold of white supremacy.
- Miller and several colleagues promoted conspiracy theories during the discussion. Among them was the idea that schools were transferring children without their parents’ permission. This is happening only in the minds of the far right and its followers. If schools had the means to transfer children, they would have far more funding than they do now.
- Last but not least, returning to the idea that federal law trumps state rights, this bill would impact state-level anti-censorship legislation. The 13 states that have passed right-to-read and anti-book laws will see those laws significantly weakened. Although HR 7661 is a federal bill, if you live in a state that has such legislation in place (see here, and also Delaware), we encourage you to contact your representatives in the states that signed these bills and let them know what the federal bill would be. Encourage your federal colleagues to apply pressure.
Although the bill passed the House with a majority, it’s important to note that it came out of a Republican-controlled committee, so there’s still a long way to go from here. While action is important, it is also important to understand that HR 7661 faces many hurdles ahead. The lengthy debate in committee, along with numerous proposed amendments to the bill, promises a similar debate in the House. If the bill passes the House and moves to the Senate, the hurdles would be even higher. Generally speaking, any bill is tougher in the Senate, but Senate lawyers will have a lot to say about a bill like this that undermines the First Amendment and exceeds Congress’ authority.
Remember, the House has two freedoms to read the bill. HR 7691, the Fight Book Ban Act, would provide federal funding to schools to help protect collections and provide unhindered access to student materials. HR 6440/S. 3365, or the Right to Read Act, would invest $600 million annually in school libraries, expanding students’ access to both better-staffed libraries and a more diverse range of materials. When you write to your representative, you can ask why it hasn’t been prioritized like it was for HR 7661. This is a particularly good question if you can meet with a representative during district business hours.
There is no crystal ball to predict what will or won’t happen. The important thing now is to get involved and take action. You have all the tools at your disposal to do so. It may be nerve-wracking, but a better, more inclusive future depends on us.
