Rep. Drazan: Decency in our schools (SB 1098)

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CALL FOR DECENCY IN SCHOOLS
By Oregon House Republican Office,

SALEM, Ore. – A work session was held on Senate Bill 1098, which aims to keep obscene and sexually explicit books on the shelves of school libraries by “prohibiting discrimination” when selecting or retaining school library materials. House Republicans say this is wrong.

“If a book on our school library shelves does not meet the standard to be read aloud on the House floor, it should not meet the standard for our schools,” said House Majority Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby). “Discernment is not discrimination. Common sense is not censorship. I urge this body to do everything it can to restore decency in our schools.”

“House rules say a person may not use indecent or profane language during a debate. By gaveling down a member for reading the language from a book available in school libraries, this body is admitting the language is indecent or profane, which we have been told would not be allowed in our schools” said Rep. Virgle Osborne (R-Roseburg). “It must be one or other. We can’t have both.”

“It is the job of locally elected school boards and parents to determine what is appropriate for our children to read, not the state,” said Rep. Ed Diehl (R-Stayton).  “If this bill passes, we are failing Oregon families by eroding their trust in our education system.”