Youngkin Signs Bill Regulating Explicit Content in Schools

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A bill that will require Virginia schools to notify parents if their children are assigned books or other materials with sexually explicit content was among more than 100 measures Gov. Youngkin signed into law this week.

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Youngkin Signs Bill Regulating Explicit Content in Schools
A bill that will require Virginia schools to notify parents if their children are assigned books or other materials with sexually explicit content was among more than 100 measures Republican Gov....

VIRGINIA

Youngkin Signs Bill Regulating Explicit Content in Schools

The bill was one of the Virginia governor's legislative priorities

By Sarah Rankin • Published April 8, 2022 • Updated on April 8, 2022 at 8:22 pm



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A bill that will require Virginia schools to notify parents if their children are assigned books or other materials with sexually explicit content was among more than 100 measures Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law this week, his office said Friday.

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The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, was one of Youngkin's legislative priorities. It tasks the Department of Education with developing model policies for parental notification and making them available to school boards by July 31. Each school board must adopt the policies by Jan. 1, 2023, according to the measure, which uses a definition of sexually explicit content that already exists in state law. It also requires that students be given an alternative assignment at a parent's request.

Democrats who objected to the bill argued that it smacked of censorship and that valuable pieces of literature would be targeted. Supporters emphasized that no books were being banned or censored and that the bill simply allows parents to be notified of explicit materials.

The measure cleared the Democrat-controlled Senate after two moderate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance it. It passed the GOP-controlled House on a party-line vote.

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