A new hotline allows parents to call and complain if they feel their children are being taught “inappropriate” material.
The Empower Hotline ((602) 771-3500), which went live last week, was created by The Arizona Department of Education. House Bill 2495 went into effect last September. Both censor the use of learning material that includes anything considered “sexual content” in public schools. Exceptions can be made for classic books, early Americana, and required college reading lists upon parental consent. Meaning, the parents need to know about the material and give permission.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jake Hoffman (R), argued to the Senate Education Committee that rather than simply banning books, the bill’s purpose is to ensure children are learning about appropriate subjects and protect them from sexually explicit content.
While there is not a concrete list of books in Arizona, just last week, Arizona state senators gave permission to the Department of Education to create a formal list of banned books with SB 1700. This bill mandates that the state create and maintain a list of books that may not be used in the classroom. The list targets any book with content considered sexual, inappropriate or that explore LGBTQ and gender identity.
In addition to classic novels such as The Great Gatsby, Brave New World and Atlas Shrugged possibly being banned, many critics see well-known Black writers who write about sexual abuse, such as Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, being targeted. LGBTQ books will be flagged as well.
HB 2495 and SB 1700 have been met with skepticism from Arizona State University students in downtown Phoenix.
“I think that any sort of abstinence-based sexual education is not effective, informational, descriptive or articulate enough,” said Emily Martin. “I believe it comes from very strong conservatism around sexuality, and the overall cultural taboo around sex.”
This issue is deeply political. Conservatives feel that the law protects children and gives parents more control over what they are exposed to. Liberals feel that it is restrictive and potentially biased.
Ana Vukavic is a community health major at ASU.
“It depends on the parent and their values,” she said. “I think it’d probably affect children in a more negative way because they’re closed off from the rest of the world and knowing what’s going on about their bodies.”
ASU medical studies student Meron Teame summed it all up by saying, “…we can’t stop kids from wanting to be curious.”
In any case, time will tell what the overall impact of these bills and the hotline will be on the education of Arizona students.
Contact the reporter: agrauel@asu.edu
