We have to remember that it’s only a small number of Mainers, living in their own alternative reality, who see public education as the enemy.

We also can’t forget the damage this misguided group can do.

This is a group that has attacked administrators, teachers and librarians at public schools throughout the state in recent years, impugning educators’ professionalism and their integrity, disrupting their professional and personal lives. These are unconscionable attacks on the people we charge with educating Maine kids.

Now, Republican legislators are getting in on the act. Some will imply that our schools can’t be trusted; others will say it outright.

And, despite all evidence to the contrary, they’ll say they are mounting these challenges to protect children.

Sen. James Libby, a Republican from Standish, has put forward a bill, L.D. 123, which would remove an exception in Maine law that allows public school libraries to hold what may be considered obscene materials for purely educational purposes.

The exception – which, under the bill, would still apply to art galleries, museums and institutions of higher learning, among others – is necessary because the definition of “obscene” is murky. You don’t want to force a museum to take down a Renaissance sculpture, or have a library remove biology texts, just because the wrong person found them offensive.

Libby told the Press Herald last month that the bill was necessary to keep inappropriate materials out of public schools, and to give schools a clear idea of what is and isn’t appropriate.

There’s no evidence that our schools are having any trouble making those choices themselves.

School librarians are trained to use their professional skill and long-established protocols to choose books that are enriching and age-appropriate. They pick books on a wide range of topics, offering a variety of viewpoints, because their mission is to serve each and every kid who comes through the door. Such a comprehensive and inclusive collection is bound to include material that is as controversial to some as it is vital to others.

There are ways to navigate the system that take into account different points of views as well as parental rights. If a parent, guardian or community member has a problem with any of the material available at a library, there is a public process for requesting it be reviewed. A parent or guardian can also always choose to have certain material kept from their son or daughter.

Passing L.D. 123 into law wouldn’t give students in Maine any more protection than they already have. It wasn’t even written with Maine in mind – nearly exact copies of the bill have been introduced in at least 20 states this year, having failed in many states, including Maine, in years prior.

The legislation is part of a national campaign to harass and censor librarians, one that has led to a near doubling, between 2021 and 2022, in the number of attempts to ban books nationwide.

While the bill up for consideration would not making anyone any safer, its passage into law would embolden those few community members who want their ideas on sex, gender, race and obscenity to be forced on every else, and who have no problem attacking librarians and their day-to-day work to do so.

And it would make many librarians and their public school colleagues think twice about offering material that could be seen as controversial in any way. It may make them think twice about working in schools altogether.

That seems to be the purpose of these legislative proposals: to put public schools on the defensive and to harness the political energy of the group so willing to disrupt public education and disparage educators.

What a strategy to choose.

Our schools have enough real problems on their plate. They are struggling with pandemic learning loss, mental health struggles, growing commitments and limited resources. Now librarians and teachers have to stop to respond to demand after angry demand regarding individual books that the people making the demands have, in some cases, not even read.

It’s an appalling way to treat people who do such important, underappreciated work. It does nothing but weaken public schools and keep them from offering a full education in a vibrant learning environment.

Unfortunately, that’s the goal here.

Remember that next time they say it’s all for the kids.

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