Senator Steinmetz withdrew HB87 after an onslaught of public testimony AGAINST this bill. It will not come up again in the 2023 Session.
Some talking points included:
- misuse: The statute can easily be misused. Why introduce criminal liability when there are many other checks and balances in place.
- biology: Senator Steinmetz asked whether sex education is more biology or obscenity? Is biology unscientific? She later reiterated the concern that this exemption is unfair because it applies to only some.
- teen awareness: Senator Scott, Chair of the Education, asked for research that correlates sex education and the prevalence of teen pregnancies and sexual diseases. Witness said that was easy to do, and he would.
- unintended consequences: School librarian Lisa Scroggins cited a list of many unintended consequences. She said she couldn’t answer the question of uneven criminal prosecution but that SF 177 is not that answer.
The image below shows school library shelves at a school in FL.
SF155 withdrawn & so librarians, libraries, … are again protected