ORLANDO, Fla. – Congressman Maxwell Frost introduced his new bill, the Fight Book Bans Act, at an event in Orlando on Saturday.
According to Frost’s website, the legislation aims to give school district’s the resources they need to fight back against the book bans.
“We believe when that book is taken off the shelf, the book ban has begun,” Frost said.
The bill would allow the Department of Education to help school district’s cover the cost of fighting the book ban which could include retaining legal representation, the cost of traveling to hearings on book bans and the cost of obtaining expert research.
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“The state is setting up our school boards for failure in terms of getting the book back on the shelf,” Frost said. “We believe that federal resources should be allocated so that way school boards have the money that they need to fight these book bans.”
The Department of Education would be able to provide up to $100,000 to a school district with the total appropriation capped at $15 million over five years.
“It’s a shame that we have to propose this piece of legislation anyway,” Frost said. “If you would have told me four years ago that I’d be a congressman introducing a piece of legislation to fight book bans, I’d tell you, you’re crazy.”
On Saturday, Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice released the following statement:
“It is nice that the Congressman does not want to ban books. We don’t either. We are fighting for a parent’s ability to question books in their child’s school. Parents should be able to be a part of this conversation. Does the Congressman oppose parental rights? That is the question.”
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice
But, some feel the material in books that have been challenged or removed altogether might not be appropriate for children. Earlier this year News 6 spoke to Tia Bess, the National Director of Engagement for Moms For Liberty, about the issue.
“You can’t go watch an rated R movie unless you have someone 18 and up,” Bess said. “You can’t go to the store to buy a Hustler magazine or Penthouse. It’s adult content. So why is it okay for a 5th grader or a 6th grader just to go check out this information in these books without their parent’s knowledge.”
To see more of our coverage on book bans, click here.
To read the latest data on book bans from the American Library Association, click here.
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