Greg Abbott (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is taking action after it was revealed that some of the state’s school districts are exposing students to sexually inappropriate material. As parents have become more concerned about content included in the curricula that is taught to their children, governments are being compelled to take a closer look at what happens in the classroom. As a result, Abbott is launching an investigation into the state’s schools to determine how prevalent this issue has become. The question is: What will the investigation find?
Abbott Takes Action
Last week, Gov. Abbott sent a missive to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) directing it to start an investigation into any criminal activity in public schools involving the availability of “pornographic material that serves no educational purpose,” according to CBS DFW. In the letter, he acknowledged that he had already directed the agency to “begin developing statewide standards to prevent the presence of pornography and other obscene content in Texas public school.”
Abbott continued, noting that despite these measures, “more immediate action is needed to protect Texas students.” He wrote:
“The presence of pornography in schools is not only inappropriate, but it is also against the law. In Texas, it is illegal to provide pornography to anyone under the age of 18, according to Section 43.24 of the Texas Penal Code. The fact that pornographic material that serves no educational purpose has been made available to students in Texas public schools is a clear violation of the law.”
Greg Abbott
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Abbott asked the agency “to refer any instance of pornography being provided to minors under the age of 18 for prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
What’s Prompting This?
Abbot’s directive came after it was revealed that a Keller Independent School District library contained a book titled Gender Queer, a Memoir. The district admitted the book should not have been on the shelves of the library.
CBS DFW reported that the book is “the work of an American author and includes sexually explicit cartoons with captions.”
The revelation prompted an outpouring of outrage from parents in the community, who became concerned that their children might have been exposed to the material. The school district issued a statement addressing those concerns:
“Keller ISD is aware of a report on social media about a book in one of our libraries that contained inappropriate images. One copy of the book in question was once available at a single high school library. There was no indication from the book’s description that it contained graphic illustrations; however, once the librarian and campus administrators became aware of the images, they immediately removed the book. Illustrations of this sort should never be available in the school environment. Ensuring our curricular materials are appropriate for students is a priority for Keller ISD. We are changing the process we use to review and approve books and related materials to prevent future incidents.”
As parents have become more concerned about content included in the curricula that is taught to their children, governments are being compelled to take a closer look at what happens in the classroom. This is not the first instance of inappropriate material being injected into the classrooms. There are several instances of New York schools subjecting their students to teachings about sexuality and even pornography.
The COVID-19 pandemic had the unexpected effect of making parents more involved in their children’s schooling. As lessons were given remotely, parents became more aware of what their kids were being taught. This is largely responsible for the debate over Critical Race Theory. But it has also revealed that sexually explicit material is being seen by students without their parents’ knowledge. Abbott’s investigation might just uncover the extent to which this is happening. The question is: If this is happening in Texas, how bad is the problem in other states?
~ Read more from Jeff Charles.
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