Have a Question?
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve heard about some concerning content being found in other schools. Is that something I should really be concerned about in my own community?
Yes — and this isn't just happening elsewhere. We've documented specific examples in our own Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester schools, including books and materials found in elementary, junior high, and high school libraries. See our Concerns and Social Influencing pages for the specifics, with photos and sources.
For decades, our society shared clear values about what's appropriate for children of different ages —values reflected in movie ratings, content warnings, and school standards alike. It was a shared understanding parents could count on without having to ask. Our school administrators have moved away from those standards, often without informing parents — a quiet betrayal of the trust families and the community place in their schools.
If pornography is so prevalent and readily accessible to children on the internet, why do some school library books matter?
The Internet gives children access to countless things schools don't provide — R-rated movies, alcohol, tobacco — but that doesn't mean schools should offer them just because they exisit elsewhere. Not all information is beneficial. And while pornography, too, is accessible to children online, that's a parental decision about internet access — not something a school should be providing or endorsing.​​
​
Research supports this concern — see our Harms page for sources on how early exposure to sexual content affects children's development.
Why is your group trying to “ban books”?
There are no banned books in America. No one is stopped from writing, publishing, buying, or reading any book they choose — that's what banning actually means, and it isn't happening here.
The term 'book banning ' is often used instead to provoke an emotional reaction and shut down conversation rather than invite it. Historically, banning referred to government or religious authorities halting the publication and distribution of ideas they opposed. Today, the term is misapplied to describe efforts to remove explicit or age-inappropriate books from school libraries.
​
As a society, we don't allow children access to alcohol or tobacco, nor would we condone schools providing these substances without clear, informed parental consent. If public schools suddenly disregarded these rules and began distributing alcohol or tobacco to children, and parents objected, would they be accused of trying to ban these products? So why should books with explicit sexual content or confusing messages for young minds be treated any differently?
​
Parents remain free to purchase or borrow such books for their children, but public schools should not provide them without parental knowledge and active approval. This isn’t about banning books—it’s about respecting parental authority and ensuring that school materials are age-appropriate.
Are bigotry, racism, and homophobia driving people’s desire to restrict certain books and content within our public schools?
Our opposition to these books is about more than sexually-graphic content alone — it's also about the schools' role. When a school provides these materials, and in some cases designates them for classroom instruction, it isn't simply making them available; it's endorsing a particular viewpoint on gender and sexual orientation as fact, without parental knowledge or consent. We would object just as strongly to a book that endorsed any other single viewpoint on children's sexual development, regardless of which identities were represented — the concern is the content and the endorsement, not who the book is about.
​
Plenty of books teach kindness, tolerence, and respect for people of all backgrounds without sexually graphic content or pushing a viewpoint as settled fact. Those are the books we'd want in our schools.
Some “experts” and “professionals” have deemed these books having sexually-explicit content as appropriate material for children; shouldn’t we trust their opinions?
Not without due diligence and careful consideration of the risks and potential harms. There are countless experts and professionals with differing opinions on nearly every subject—this subject is no exception. The question isn't whether some experts approve of this content, but whether the evidence supports exposing children to it as beneficial.
Research on childhood development raises real concerns about premature exposure to sexual content and themes — see our Harms page for sources. Not all knowledge benefits a child, especially when it risks causing confusion and harm to impressionable minds. This is exactly why the responsibility to protect children and guide them according to their developmental needs belongs to the adults closet to them.
Parents know their children best and have the right to make these decisions. Our website and other resources empower them to do so. That's why these sensitive issues should be handled on an individual basis and privately within the family, not within our public schools.
What if my school won't address these concerns — do I have other options?
Yes. If a school won't be transparent with parents or remove age-inappropriate content, families shouldn't be stuck with no alternative. School choice gives parents the freedom to leave a school that isn't serving their child's needs and find one that will — including homeschooling options, which we've listed as a resource on this site.
Every child deserves a quality education, regardless of family income. When funding follows the child rather than being tied to a single assigned school, families gain real freedom to seek out an environment that aligns with their values and their child's developmental needs.