Concerned parents, teachers drawn to Statehouse by controversial education bill

INDIANAPOLIS— An Indiana Senate committee heard hours of conflicting testimony Wednesday at the Statehouse regarding a controversial “harmful materials for minors” bill.

The Senate Education and Career Development Committee heard multiple bills in its meeting, with Senate Bill 17 drawing the most attention and testimony.

SB 17 allows for K-12 schools and public libraries to be prosecuted for books and other materials deemed to be harmful, including obscenity, pornography or violence.

According to the author of the bill, Sen. James Tomes, R-Wadesville, the bill “removes the word education as a defense.” In other words, a school or library would be unable to claim that the alleged obscenity in a book is “educational.”

Read more: https://www.thestatehousefile.com/politics/concerned-parents-teachers-drawn-to-statehouse-by-controversial-education-bill/article_56281784-7b0e-11ec-81a2-6bdb5e36e6ca.html