When Federal Policy Threatens the Freedom to Read

As a librarian, I have dedicated my career to ensuring that young people have access to books that help them learn, grow, and understand the world around them. But before entering librarianship, I served as anEnglish teacher and a professor of children’s literature, studying how stories shape literacy, empathy, andcritical thinking. That background informs my concern about the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, H.R. 7661. While the title suggests a measure designed to protect children, the bill’s language is broad and ambiguous in ways that could have serious consequences for libraries, educators, and students. The legislation defines “sexually oriented content” in sweeping terms that could easily be interpreted to include books discussing gender identity, LGBTQ+ experiences, or other aspects of identity and humandevelopment that appear in age-appropriate literature for young readers. By tying federal funding to suchrestrictions, the bill could pressure schools and libraries to avoid or remove books…
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