A parental rights leader spoke to Fox News Digital after the board of education in one Maryland county unanimously voted in favor of a policy to restrict “sexually explicit” material from schools on Jan. 10.
It is a major victory for parents’ rights groups like Moms for Liberty, who have consistently pushed to remove sexually explicit books from schools.
Moms for Liberty Chapter President Kit Hart told Fox News Digital that the vote was a clear sign that parental rights in schools are not a political issue.
“I think that the unanimous vote in favor of this policy is further proof that [the issue] of having [sexual] content in schools spans the entire political spectrum,” she said. “It is not a political issue.”
PARENTS AND TEACHERS BATTLE IN MARYLAND COUNTY OVER ‘SEXUALLY EXPLICIT’ BOOKS IN SCHOOL
“The entire idea of parental rights is an idea that all parents can agree with,” she added. “We’re very happy with the result.”
“We really want to highlight that there is a distinction between adults and children that as a society we need to work very hard to maintain and this is a step in the right direction in solidifying that distinction,” Hart said.
The policy states that “sexually explicit content is defined as unambiguously describing, depicting, showing, or writing about sex or sex acts in a detailed or graphic manner.”
Previously, when parents voiced problems with books that they believed were too sexually explicit to be allowed in schools, they were forced to work through a difficult process, Hart explained.
“When a parent has an issue with a book they have to go through this very long and tedious process of submitting a reconsideration form and the reconsideration committee has to read the book,” she said.
Hart also said that while the new policy should make it easier for parents to raise objections to sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate school materials when they arise, it is also a preventative measure.
“Hopefully, with this policy in place, we won’t have as many books to even be reconsidered” by local committees, she said.
While speaking in his personal capacity, board of education member Steve Whisler previously spoke to Fox News Digital about stopping sexual content from appearing in schools.
“I just frankly cannot understand how some people can defend this,” Whisler said.
Some parents have spoken out against the new policy.
“It could have repercussions that are incredibly vast,” parent Jessica Bronson told CBS News. “I mean, we’re talking about classic works of literature that are included in the definition of that policy.”
Carroll County did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.