Report: “Proposal Would Require Virginia Schools To Notify Parents of ‘Sexually Explicit’ Literature”
From The Washington Post:
Virginia regulators are drafting rules that would require school districts to red-flag objectionable teaching material and make it easier for parents to control what books their children see in the classroom, though a similar bill was vetoed last year by Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
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Most districts also have policies that permit parents to object to sensitive or controversial material, and some allow them to ask for alternative assignments.
But educators fear that labeling books “sexually explicit” will lead some parents to dismiss their educational value, said Sarah Crain, advocacy chair for the Virginia Association of Teachers of English and the literacy coordinator for Stafford County Public Schools.
“The big concern is when you take a label that has a very broad definition and you reduce a book or a work down to something that is a mere decontextualized fragment of the work . . . that actually impedes the ability for teachers and parents to have informed conversations,” Crain said.
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About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.