NH: A third attempt at a book ban...

NH Book Ban 3

Lawmakers in Concord are trying for a third time to pass a book ban bill.

SB 434 is a vague bill that would create a new state process where one parent can complain about any school material, like books, movies or art, and push a principal to restrict or remove it for everyone else’s kids.

New Hampshire values local control and recent polling shows that families here don’t want book bans. Districts already have local policies that let parents raise concerns and choose alternatives for their own children. Families are asking for help with school funding, the cost of living and our housing crisis, not more red tape and fights over library books.

Our kids deserve the freedom to read and learn in safe, welcoming schools with age appropriate books that reflect their lives and help them think for themselves.

Tell your Senator to protect our kids’ freedom to read and learn and vote NO on SB 434.

Dear Senator,

As your constituent and one of thousands of MomsRising members in New Hampshire, I’m writing to urge you to oppose SB 434, a bill that opens the door to book and materials bans by inviting censorship into our schools.

SB 434 would create a new state process where one parent can complain about almost any school material, like books, movies or art, and push a principal to restrict or remove it for everyone else’s kids. There is no guarantee other parents would even know a book was challenged or taken off the shelf.

New Hampshire values local control. Districts already have policies in place that let parents raise concerns and choose alternatives for their own children. That is how it should work. Last year Governor Ayotte vetoed HB 324, a previous book ban bill, because it went too far and undermined local control and existing options for parents. SB 434 raises many of the same concerns. SB 434 adds a vague state mandate on top of what we already have. It uses broad terms like “age inappropriate” and “otherwise offensive” without defining them. In other states, similar laws have been used to target award winning, age appropriate books that reflect different families and real life experiences, not pornography.

New Hampshire families have already said we don’t want book bans, yet here we are with a third bill in three years. Families are asking for help with school funding, the cost of living and our housing crisis, not political fights over books. If a book is truly so extreme that it might break existing obscenity laws, our courts already exist to handle that. We don’t need principals and school boards pulled into legal style disputes about which materials kids are allowed to see. That kind of pressure leads educators to leave materials out entirely. A book my child never gets to see because one parent filed a complaint is a kind of censorship. That parent can make choices for their child, but not for mine.

Our kids deserve the freedom to read and learn in safe, welcoming schools with age appropriate books that reflect their lives and help them think for themselves. Please vote NO on SB 434 and keep decisions about school materials rooted in local control and trust in our educators.

Sincerely,

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