East SBV Times

Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh expressed disappointment as the Senate Education Committee failed to advance Senate Bill 1435, a measure aimed at updating statewide standards for school libraries to protect children from harmful material. The bill, which failed to advance with a vote of 2-3, sought to align the California Education Code with Penal Code section 313 to define and address harmful matter in school libraries while allowing flexibility for local school boards to adapt to contemporary standards.

In a statement, Senator Ochoa Bogh emphasized the importance of protecting children within school environments, stating, "If these guidelines are good enough to protect kids outside of school, then it should be reasonable and good enough to protect our kids within our schools." She underscored that the bill is not about censorship but rather about updating state library content for the first time in 30 years.

Lance Christensen, VP of Education Policy and Government Affairs at the California Policy Center, highlighted the significance of setting guidelines to screen out obscene material from school classrooms and libraries, suggesting that doing so could provide more clarity for local school boards. Christensen posed a critical question to the Legislature, asking where the line should be drawn on obscene material for young children's education.

Erin Friday, Co-Lead of Our Duty, criticized the failure to protect students from accessing obscene materials in schools, calling it "absolutely reprehensible." Friday noted the potential consequences of such access, stating, "It's the antithesis of a 'safe space' to permit children to read books that describe how to find a stranger online to engage in sexual activities."

Dalia Shehata, a TV show host at Logos TV, emphasized the importance of prioritizing the protection of children, stating, "Supporting this bill means keeping our children safe."

The current Education Code in California provides guidelines for the adoption of instruction and instructional materials, with prohibitions on discriminatory content. However, there is a lack of specific guidelines for materials and books available in school libraries, with the last update to Education Code section 18111 dating back to 1990.

Despite existing laws regulating textbooks and instructional materials, the absence of clear state guidelines for school libraries has raised concerns about children's access to potentially harmful material. The need to update state education guidelines to align with Penal Code section 313, which defines harmful matter, has been emphasized to protect children from accessing inappropriate content.

SB 1435 has been granted reconsideration and may be presented again in the future to address the crucial issue of safeguarding children in school libraries.