GOP bill aims to expose librarians who indoctrinate kids — one says 'they would have to prove that I do'

Anxiety for many Arkansas librarians is at an all-time-high under new "state laws governing the availability of books and the sharing of ideas in schools," according to a Monday, January 1 report from News From The States.

Per the report, "Act 372 would create criminal liability for librarians who distribute content that some consider 'obscene' or 'harmful to minors' — two terms that the law does not define — and put the availability of challenged books in the hands of elected officials.".

Another piece of legislation, called the LEARNS Act "prohibits 'indoctrination' of children in schools but does not define the term. Those who oppose 'indoctrination' in libraries and classrooms often cite LGBTQ+ topics and systemic racism as the information they do not want children to have."

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Pulaski Heights Middle School librarian Brittani Brooks, however, isn't worried, and "is confident that none of the books in her library run afoul of the undefined terms in Act 372 and the LEARNS Act."

A December 1, 2023 report from News From The States noted "Eighteen plaintiffs sued the state in June over Act 372 of 2023," and"U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks temporarily blocked two sections" of the bill "in July, shortly before the law was scheduled to go into effect."

Now, the news outlet reports the suit "will go to trial in October 2024, but the unchallenged sections of the law are likely to remain up to interpretation regardless of whether" Judge Brooks "declares the challenged sections unconstitutional."

News From The States reports:

All school and public libraries already had procedures in place to handle book challenges before Act 372 was introduced this year. Brooks reminded the House Judiciary Committee that school libraries must have content reconsideration policies in order to be accredited by the state Department of Education.

She also said school librarians across Arkansas were removing books from shelves 'behind closed doors,' since other states have also passed policies limiting what topics can be shared or discussed in schools.

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Brooks said, "One thing I always tell people is, 'We know we don't indoctrinate kids. We don’t,' she said. '…I’m not going to go around proving that I don’t. They would have to prove that I do."

She noted, "I think the unspoken intention [of the law and its supporters] was more about fear, miscommunication and self-censorship, and I think they’ve achieved that, and it’s only going to get worse in schools."

In his ruling, Judge Brooks wrote the "'lack of clarity seems to have been by design' in the blocked portion of Act 372 giving city or county elected officials the power to relocate library books," and that "by keeping the pivotal terms vague, local governing bodies have greater flexibility to assess a given challenge however they please rather than how the Constitution dictates."

News From The State's full report is here.