As a parent, I understand the desire to protect kids from the uncertainty of the world. However, I also understand that education should help prepare them for the world - and learning how to navigate difficult subjects is a form of preparation. The classroom should be a safe environment to practice such critical thinking skills. Options to opt out of reading material undermine teachers’ expertise, sow divisions in the classroom, and censor works with much to offer growing readers. Patterns of censorship in other states have shown it is often books depicting often underrepresented groups that are lost when parents and politicians create confusion and fear in the classroom. Virginian should be better than this. Please vote no.