Books Save Lives Act would require local public school libraries keep a diverse set of books
The lead House sponsor concluded a roundtable discussion about the bill by reading aloud the Langston Hughes poem “Harlem.”
Context
Book challenges and removals from U.S. public school classrooms and libraries have reached record highs in 2023, driven in large part by conservative groups like Moms for Liberty.
Most of the challenged or removed titles portray or advocate progressive messages about sexuality, sexual orientation, gender identity, or race. The most challenged title last school year was Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, a bestselling novel about underaged prostitution.
Kids and teens can still read these books by other means — like buying at a bookstore or online, or downloading New York Public Library’s free nationwide e-reader app SimplyE. (Then again, such workaround methods could still potentially be discovered or punished by the reader’s parents.)
What the bill does
Earlier this month, GovTrack Insider covered the Fight Book Bans Act, a Democratic bill which would provide federal grants for schools to fight book challenges in court. Still, even if it passes, a school’s or school district’s actual library contents wouldn’t be federally influenced.
Introduced not long after, the Books Save Lives Act would go one step further, by requiring every publicly-funded school library to “maintain a diverse collection of books.”
That would have to include books written either by a member of an “underrepresented community,” or whose subject matter is about such a community. The bill specifies such communities to include:
- Racial or ethnic minorities
- “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or nonbinary” people
- Religious minorities
- People with disabilities
Since the bill doesn’t include any hard numbers, it’s unclear whether including as few as just one single book with any of those themes could suffice to meet the requirement.
It’s also possible that libraries could comply in ways different than, or even opposite to, how the bill’s progressive sponsors intend. For example, conservative districts could comply with the requirement to own books by racial minorities by purchasing a title like Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation by Candace Owens.
The bill would also require that any school which receives federal funding have at least one librarian on staff, and would classify library collections that violate its guidelines as civil rights violations. The bill implies that if a school doesn’t meet these requirements, it would lose federal funding.
It was introduced in the House as H.R. 6830 on December 14, by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA7).
What supporters say
Supporters argue that materials in public schools should reflect the multifariousness of America writ large.
“As a child who endured sexual abuse, when I read Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, it was the first time in my life I knew I was not alone and it helped me move forward,” Rep. Pressley said in a House floor speech. “When I say that books save lives, I mean that.”
“Rather than honor the brilliance and diversity of our authors, illustrators, and librarians, Republicans are focused on further marginalizing people who already face systemic discrimination in our society… through discriminatory book bans,” Rep. Pressley said in a press release.
What opponents say
Opponents include Republicans, many of whom counter that certain books are legitimately unworthy of taxpayer funding for public schools.
But opponents may also include many Democrats who sympathize with the bill’s goal, but still say this should remain a matter for states and localities. They say libraries’ contents should be decided at levels closer to the people, rather than with congressional guidelines.
Plus, opponents in both parties could oppose the bill based on its unfunded mandates. If a school says it doesn’t have enough money to rehire a librarian, then what? What if the school has to use a book-approval plan where they don’t control exactly which titles they’re sent, in order to save money?
Other opponents may contend that this bill would be unconstitutional, though it’s difficult to determine since Congress wouldn’t be specifying the exact contents of local school libraries. For example, the bill says to include books by racial or ethnic minorities, not that every library must own a copy of the book Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi for example.
Odds of passage
The bill has attracted 27 cosponsors, all Democrats. Those include some of the most prominent progressives in Congress, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY14), Ilhan Omar (D-MN5), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI12), and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY16).
Interestingly, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL10) — lead sponsor of the aforementioned Fight Book Bans Act to provide grant funding to cover schools’ court costs — has not signed on.
The new bill awaits a potential vote in either the House Education and the Workforce or House Judiciary Committee. Odds of passage are low in the Republican-controlled chamber.
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This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.
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