As you know, Idaho Family Policy Center has been working on the library smut issue for some time now.

Last year, we partnered with Sen. Cindy Carlson (R-Riggins) and Rep. Jaron Crane (R-Nampa) to champion our Children’s School and Library Protection Act (House Bill 314), which would have required public schools and community libraries to restrict children’s access to obscene materials.

Unfortunately, House Bill 314 was vetoed by Gov. Little, disappointing the nearly 74% of likely Idaho voters who wanted legal reforms to address the issue.

Needless to say, we were excited when a modified version of our bill was reintroduced last month, albeit without our involvement. But a couple weeks later, state representatives pulled the bill off the House floor and back to committee, effectively shelving the bill. At the time, some state legislators promised that a ‘compromise’ bill would be introduced soon thereafter.

That new compromise bill – Senate Bill 1289 – was released to the public yesterday by its sponsor, Sen. Geoff Schroeder (R-Mountain Home). After close examination by our policy team, we’ve concluded that this new version, while well-intentioned, misses the mark.

Under the newly proposed requirements, parents can seek court action only after the school or library board issues a written statement admitting that they violated the law by making obscene materials available to minors.

In essence, this means that parents must get permission from school or library officials before taking legal action to protect their children from taxpayer-funded pornography—and from our perspective, that’s a bridge too far.

We’ve already said that Idaho Family Policy Center will support any bill that gives parents recourse to hold schools and libraries accountable. To accomplish this goal, Senate Bill 1289 must be amended so parents can seek legal remedies—especially when schools or libraries refuse to acknowledge the obscene nature of books that they make available.

We need you to get involved so this bill can be improved. Send your message asking members of the Senate State Affairs Committee to fix this bill before sending it to the floor.