At least 7 state legislatures are proposing 'book ban' legislation, prompting concern from civil liberty advocates

• State legislatures across the country are proposing bills that would restrict schools and libraries from teaching certain books.
• Some of the proposed legislation allows parents to submit formal complaints about school material, or allow parents to join committees.

From "Maus" to "To Kill A Mockingbird," school districts across the country have been the battlefront of the book banning debate.

But this year, at least seven state legislatures so far are attempting to codify the concerns of some parents into law with proposed bills aiming to reshape school curricula.

Insider identified nine bills currently being debated in various statehouses, some of which attempt to ban students from reading certain genres of books while others provide parents the opportunity to report and eliminate the books classrooms, among other measures.

Certain books have been repeatedly challenged in schools for decades, Insider previously reported. The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, for instance, tracks the number of complaints that books receive in schools and publishes the most frequently contested books.

But critics of the bans said these new bills are "misguided" and possibly unconstitutional.

"Freedom of expression protects our right to read, learn and share ideas free from viewpoint-based censorship," said Vera Eidelman, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union. "Book bans in school and public libraries—places that are central to our abilities to explore ideas, encounter new perspectives, and learn to think for ourselves—are misguided attempts to try to suppress that right."

The contents of the bills working through statehouses this year differ from state to state. An Oklahoma bill restricts entire genres of books from being taught or held in school libraries. And in Florida, one bill would allow parents to join committees to shape the instructional materials of a school district.

But many of the books that could be taken off of shelves under these bills showcase representations of marginalized communities, such as LGBTQ people and people of color, Eidelman said.

"The vast majority of book bans that are taking hold across the country—whether through legislative proposals or direct school district or board actions—specifically aim to remove books that are by and about communities of color, LGBTQ people, and other marginalized groups," said Eidelman, who works on the organization's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. "Censoring books on this basis is discriminatory and antithetical to our First Amendment rights, and we are actively pursuing litigation to block such laws and policies."

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, told Insider that the bills are "all about politics."

Weingarten said that giving parents more transparency about what's taught in classrooms is a step in the right direction, however, she also said there's currently a push from some conservative figures, who are "trying to exploit the anguish and the anxiety that people have about everything to create more factionalism."

Weingarten added: "These attempts are about just chilling the teaching and learning that goes on in classrooms."

But, Florida state Rep. Sam Garrison, who also co-sponsored the bill there, defended the measure earlier this month. Garrison said the bill's main goal is to "encourage" kids to visit libraries and to comfort parents about what books are available.

"What this bill is seeking to do is provide transparency to reinforce for parents the security and the confidence that comes with knowing that they can drop their kids off at the local library and be comfortable. They want to encourage their kids to go to the library," Garrison said, per the TC Palm.

The bills include:

Florida Senate Bill 1300, which:

• Requires a media specialist at every school to review all books and teaching materials to ensure they are "age-appropriate."
• Requires elementary schools to post a list of each of their teaching materials online.

Florida House Bill 1467:

• Each elementary school would be required to post all school library materials online in a "searchable format."
• Allow parents to join committees for "ranking, eliminating, or selecting instructional materials."

Georgia Senate Bill 226:

• Allows parents to report school material they believe is "harmful to minors" and get the material potentially removed in a timely manner following a review process.
• If a parent is unhappy with the review's answer, they can appeal the decision to the local school board.

Oklahoma Senate Bill 1142:

• Prohibits public schools and their libraries from carrying books that revolve around "the study of sex, sexual preferences, sexual activity, sexual perversion, sex-based classifications, sexual identity, or gender identity or books that are of a sexual nature that a reasonable parent or legal guardian would want to know of or approve of prior to their child being exposed to it."
• If a parent requests a book to be removed from a school district or school's library, they can submit a request to remove the book. If the book is not removed within 30 days, the school district or school faces a $10,000 per day fine for each day the book remains on the shelves.

Tennessee House Bill 1944:

• Prohibits public schools from providing "obscene materials or materials harmful to minors" to students in school libraries.

Tennessee House Bill 800:

• Prohibits public schools from including books in instructional materials that "promote, normalize, support, or address lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or transgender (LGBT) issues or lifestyles."

Indiana Senate Bill 17:

• Removes legal protections for teachers and libraries for providing "materials harmful to minors" for educational purposes

Iowa Senate File 2198:

• Makes it a criminal offense for a teacher to use "obscene material or hard-core pornography" in instructional materials.
• The punishment for an offender would be up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of $2,560.

South Dakota House Bill 1337:

• Prohibits public schools from including teaching materials that promote "a divisive concept."

Do you know of any additional bills in state legislatures that restrict books or teaching materials from being taught? Send an email to mhall@insider.com.