Democratic state Rep. Chris Rabb wants to create a system in which a number of steps would have to take place in order to ban a text from a school system or a school library.
State Rep. Christopher Rabb (D-Philadelphia) is planning to introduce legislation to combat the recent and ridiculous rash of book bans in Pennsylvania schools.
At present, only one state—Texas—has banned more books than Pennsylvania, and the push to ban more and more is continuing in many school districts.
Rabb’s plan, while not released yet, promises to create a system in which a number of steps would have to take place in order to ban a text from a school system or a school library.
The process would require at least two public hearings in which professionals with knowledge of the texts would get a chance to speak about the text before a vote to remove it could be held.
At present, what would count as knowledge of the text and what kind of professionals will be called upon to testify are unknown, but what is perhaps more certain is that a bill of this kind is unlikely to stop the ideological book bans. However, it may delay the bans for a while, and may also call attention to the problem by allowing experts to speak about these bans in public.
This new push for some semblance of balance comes at a time when public schools are under a variety of attacks from a number of corporate entities and curiously well funded parents’ groups, many of them funded by billionaires seeking to privatize schools and direct public dollars into private pockets.
In Pennsylvania, many of these efforts are funded in one way or another by Pennsylvania’s richest man, billionaire Jeffrey Yass, a well known advocate for what corporate entities improperly refer to as “school choice.”
The attacks are also coming from the top of the Republican ticket in Pennsylvania, as GOP candidate for Governor Doug Mastriano has promised to cut funding for public schools in half should he win in November.
While public hearings are unlikely to stop hyper partisan school boards from banning texts, they will likely shine a light on the nature of those bans, why they are being sought, and who is really behind them.
Rabb’s plan might not be a solution, but it is perhaps part of one, and that is certainly better than nothing.
Politics
How to apply for a job in the American Climate Corps
The Biden administration announced its plans to expand its New Deal-style American Climate Corps (ACC) green jobs training program last week. ...
Gov. Shapiro is bringing period products back to Pennsylvania’s public schools
In his budget proposal, Gov. Josh Shapiro has called for $3 million to be set aside to provide period products to all public school students free of...
Abandoned oil and gas wells are making Pennsylvanians sick. Rep. Summer Lee has a fix
The US House passed Congresswoman Summer Lee’s bipartisan bill to tackle abandoned oil and gas wells. Pennsylvania leads the country in abandoned...
Local News
What do you know about Wawa? 7 fun facts about Pennsylvania’s beloved convenience store
Wawa has 60 years of Pennsylvania roots, and today the commonwealth’s largest private company has more than 1,000 locations along the east coast....
Conjoined twins from Berks County die at age 62
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations,...