AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) Lawmakers heard hours of testimony on obscenity and censorship as they consider a proposal to require teachers to notify parents before using books with sexually explicit material in lessons.
Republican Rep. Amy Arata, the bill’s sponsor, says she introduced the legislation after she became upset that her son was reading the novel “Kafka on the Shore” for class. Arata’s bill would allow books labeled “obscene” to be used in classrooms provided both parents and students sign a disclosure.
Opponents say the bill is unnecessary because there currently is a process for the public to challenge educational materials through local school boards.
Arata used the process to successfully challenge the use of “Kafka on the Shore” in her children’s schools.
The bill remains in committee.
