Prevent Book Banning and Censorship in ACPS
Sarah Harris
Legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly requires the Virginia Department of Education to develop model policies to ensure parental notification of any instructional material that includes “sexually explicit content.” We have heard public comments from several community members at recent School Board meetings demanding adherence to the legislation.
ACPS has been complying with the spirit of this legislation for decades. Policy IIAA, adopted in 2006, ensures that all learning resources are reviewed for educational suitability and age appropriateness, among other criteria, before being introduced. Policy IIA has permitted parents to review instructional material since its adoption in 1993. Even though these two policies have been guiding ACPS practice for many years, the Board recently updated the policies to ensure that they are explicit in their compliance with the proposed guidelines in development by the VDOE as required by SB 656.
We’re left wondering what these community members think is being taught in our schools and what they believe teachers are trying to hide. Have they tried asking their kids or their kids’ teachers about what learning resources are being used in the classroom? We’ve yet to hear of sexually explicit material being used in classrooms in ACPS, leading us to also wonder whether this is a completely manufactured problem.
The Youngkin administration is attempting to ban the mention of homosexuality in all Virginia schools, using an outdated and unconstitutional section of code to define "sexually explicit content" to bypass the General Assembly. This section of code lists homosexuality separately, as if being gay is, in and of itself, a sexual act.
This dangerously sexualizes identity. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are no more sexual than cis, straight folks and equating their identities to sexual behavior reinforces the dangerous and homophobic stereotypes that result in discrimination and violence against queer people.
SB 656 carries the risk of allowing individual community members to deem learning resources as “sexually explicit” for the mere inclusion of LGBTQ characters or historical events and movements in the LGBTQ community.
We are grateful that the Albemarle County School Board added language to prevent this interpretation of the legislation: Policy IIA specifically states “Instructional materials shall not be designated as sexually explicit based solely on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the characters therein.”
We are opposed to book banning and censorship in general and especially when it is done on the basis of discrimination.
So, what can we do about it?
Contact the Governor and your representatives and let them know that you do NOT support censorship in Virginia public schools. Let them know that any model policies drafted under SB 656 must not erase the voices of marginalized groups of Virginians, including Black, brown, and indigenous folks, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Speak at a School Board meeting in support of a diverse and inclusive curriculum and classroom materials. Let our School Board members know that you agree that kids (and teachers!) have the right to speak about their own identities and their families in their classrooms.