Teachers Unions Conspire To Keep Explicit Books In Schools

A recent memo obtained by Meg Brock at Breitbart News has disclosed an alarming collaboration between the largest teachers union in the United States, the National Education Association (NEA), and Democratic lawmakers. This partnership sought to craft a bill known as the “Right to Read Act” to combat the removal of inappropriately explicit books from school libraries.

This newly revealed information underscores the overwhelming left-leaning bias of teachers unions and their aggressive push for progressive programming in American schools. This also highlights their relentless pursuit of compulsory taxpayer funding to support their agenda.

The Right to Read Act, reintroduced in April 2023 by Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) aimed to counteract the efforts of parents and Republican lawmakers who sought to eliminate explicit content from school libraries. In addition to protecting such content, the bill also authorized $500 million in funding for school libraries. It provided liability protections for librarians and educators supplying these books to students.

The collaboration between the Democratic lawmakers and the NEA was substantiated by a February 2023 letter from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Board of Directors. The letter revealed Sen. Reed’s interaction with the NEA in revising the bill’s language and his omission of the requirement for a “state-certified librarian” to oversee the curation of library materials.

In defense of their advocacy for explicit books, some, including ALA President Emily Drabinski, have argued that communities should trust librarians to curate age-appropriate school library collections. Drabinski, who has advocated for such explicit content in libraries and authored papers encouraging the incorporation of Queer Theory into library curation practices, has also been criticized for her openly Marxist beliefs.

State legislatures nationwide have engaged in legislation addressing the content of school libraries. In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) commented on the need for libraries to adopt standard measures, such as the ALA’s Bill of Rights, to govern the inclusion or exclusion of books.

Conservative groups, including Moms For Liberty, have advocated using objective standards to determine the age-appropriateness of school library materials. They assert that the current subjective measures are insufficient and can lead to the inclusion of inappropriate content for children.

As the country grapples with the question of what content is suitable for school libraries, disclosing the collaboration between the NEA and Democratic lawmakers to preserve access to explicit content is concerning. It raises questions about the motives of these unions and lawmakers and their commitment to the well-being and education of American schoolchildren. 

We must continue to scrutinize the actions of these entities and hold them accountable for their attempts to shape the education landscape to fit their progressive agenda for programming America’s children.