Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
Guidance Document Change: The guidance document "Model Policies Concerning Instructional Materials with Sexually Explicit Content" was developed in conjunction with stakeholders in order to comply with SB656 (2022).
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7/15/22  7:32 am
Commenter: Brett McNeme

The very reason for censure and ratings
 

The very reason we have restrictions on media is to protect young children.  When you view school board meetings across the country, the school board does not want the sexual explicit material read because the school board meeting is required to abide by censure laws on public media (or so they say).  The reason there are those types of laws are to protect children.  If you leave sex related material available in public school libraries, you might as well cancel all restrictions media must abide by over the air.  

If the material “must” be available, make it available in the public library, or at least begin discussion about that.  Taking material out of a school is not equivalent to “burning books”.

Recognize this material is the last a child has remaining of their innocence.  Some households want sexualized kids.  That is their pediatrics and they can teach their kids that.  But once introduced, the child is no longer “innocent.”  You cannot unhide that material.  This no doubt will only increase problems we have, not make better or solve anything.  

The development and maturity of each child is different and by putting this material in schools easily afford children whose parents have determined are not ready for it to be vulnerable to those that don’t set boundaries or are ready to expose their kids to it.   Furthermore, continuing to push this agenda will further decline public school enrollment and lead parents to go to alternative schools that don’t have the material available.

bottomline, if the material can’t be read over the airwaves, it should not be available in primary and middle schools.  If can be available in public libraries, just not in schools.  Budgets are supposedly strained, so focus those strained budgets on the reason schools exist, math, reading and writing.

CommentID: 122480