Today, State Representative Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) and State Senator André Jacque (R-DePere) released two bills for co-sponsorship (LRB-0423 and LRB-0522) that address the matter of obscene materials in schools.  

LRB-0522 prohibits schools from using the tax-payer funded common school fund to purchase obscene materials. LRB-0423 removes the exemption for school employees to be held liable for displaying obscene material.

“When you look at the definition of obscene material in state statute, there is no reason for that type of material to be in our schools,” said Rep. Allen.

Wisconsin State Statute 944.21 provides the definition for obscene material as something that describes or shows sexual conduct in an offensive way with no educational or literary value. For example, a book in which characters describe how to perform oral sex could be considered obscene material, and this example actually occurred in a school district in the 97th.

“Since the pandemic, parents have been paying more attention to what material their students are encountering at school,” stated Rep. Allen. “There is a demand to ensure that students are not encountering sexually explicit material in school.”

Some might panic that there will be multiple lawsuits brought against schools, but current Wisconsin State Statute 944.21 (7) requires both a district attorney and the attorney general to sign off before a civil or criminal proceeding could commence. That is two layers of review making sure that only clear violations of the law result in litigation.

“Schools that are focused on teaching students have nothing to fear from this legislation,” said Rep. Allen. “Accountability is important, and these bills create healthy accountability for schools.”

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