Authors of pornographic books do not have an inalienable right to sell their goods to school libraries, a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday.
A coalition of LGBT groups, free-speech organizations, authors, and publishers is challenging an Iowa law requiring schools to ensure that books are “age-appropriate.”
Senate File 496 explicitly refers to books with “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act” and says school libraries cannot hand them out to kids.
This upset Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, and HarperCollins, who all really want to place pornographic books in front of kids.
However, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a preliminary injunction against the law, holding that schools have a “legitimate pedagogical” interest in which books are accessible to kids during the day.
Judge Ralph Erickson wrote in the opinion:
It is indisputable that the purposes of a school library are to enhance education, supplement classroom learning, and facilitate the development of students’ knowledge and skills. A school library is curated by school officials, educators, librarians, or perhaps some combination of these people. It is supervised by educators and librarians.
Judges Lavenski Smith and Jonathan Kobes both joined in the opinion.
The court further ruled that children do not have a right to read certain books in schools, and this does not amount to a book ban.
“The First Amendment does not guarantee students the right to access books of their choosing at taxpayer expense,” the ruling stated, citing case precedents.
Iowa’s attorney general praised the decision.
“Parents should always know that school is a safe place for their children to learn, not be concerned they are being indoctrinated with inappropriate sexual materials and philosophies,” Attorney General Brenna Bird stated. “I am grateful that our law protecting children was upheld today.”
Penguin Random House criticized the ruling against it.
“The fight continues, and we stand with authors, educators, librarians and students to protect access to books and the freedom to read,” the publisher stated, according to Courthouse News.
The ruling is the latest part of a battle over whether public schools should be allowed to expose kids to explicit sexual material at any age or whether parents should be involved and be the decision-makers about when their children learn about such sensitive topics.
Other states, including most notably Florida, have sided with the rights of parents to raise their children and to teach them about sex under their own values system.
Last summer, the Supreme Court affirmed this view in Mahmoud v. Taylor, ruling that public schools should provide parents the ability to opt their children out of sex and gender classes that conflict with their religious views.
The Legal Insurrection Foundation filed an amicus brief in support of the coalition of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian parents.
[Featured image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]
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