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Coalition strives to protect children from sexually explicit materials in schools
Explicit books heavily promoted by Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, and their allies continue to plague school library shelves across the country — books aimed at shaping children’s developing minds to align with gender ideology and a pro-abortion agenda. But child protection advocacy groups across the country — like Rated Books, Protect Texas Children (PTC), and Recover America — have teamed up to push back.
A coalition of child protection advocacy groups in Texas has teamed up to draw attention to and fight sexually explicit materials in children's school libraries and classrooms.
These explicit materials are largely distributed and promoted by Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, SIECUS, the American Library Association, and the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Texas passed a law prohibiting explicit materials for minors by “establishing clear standards for school library content across the state” through “applying the same content standards used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)."
One child protection advocacy group has established a ratings system to evaluate the books most often found in school libraries and classrooms, evaluating them on a scale of 0-5, with 0 being appropriate for "all ages" and 5 being "deviant/adult only" content. This is a tool meant to inform parents and other concerned adults.
Planned Parenthood and its allies — Advocates for Youth (AFY), SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change (formerly Sexuality Information & Education Council of the U.S.), the American Library Association (ALA), the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), and others — work together to promote pornographic content and gender-ideology that are easily accessible to minors. As Live Action News has reported, there is a historical alliance between Planned Parenthood, the ALA, and the NCAC.
These groups also utilize the same talking points — like the erroneous claim that parents are the pesky “vocal minority” who want to “ban” books, glossing over the fact that the books are sexually explicit and not age-appropriate. These books aren't even "banned"; every single one of them is easily accessible and available for purchase across the country.
In schools where students should be learning necessary subjects like math, science, and reading comprehension, these groups advocate to ensure that pornographic books are placed inside classrooms and school libraries, exposing minors to concepts such as rape, incest, pedophilia, sex toys, science-denying gender ideology, and information about how and where to access other pornography.
These books find their way into schools via multiple pathways:
The ALA provides recommended book lists to libraries across the country.
Many Planned Parenthood affiliates also have book recommendations for minors.
There are also programs like AFY’s “Hope in a Box” which describes itself as equipping “K-12 educators with LGBTQ-inclusive curricula, training, and mentorship.” AFY’s program sends a “curated book list, curriculum guides, and toolkits… to hundreds of additional school libraries and Language Arts classes.”
Live Action News previously reported that “[m]any of the same books on the ALA recommended book list are sent directly to school districts nationwide through the “Hope in a Box” program, despite parental objections.”
Last month, Bonnie Wallace, legislative liaison with Recover America, appeared on Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's podcast to discuss the child protection advocacy coalition's ongoing attempts to remove explicit materials from the school libraries.
These materials violate Texas Senate Bill (SB) 13, which expanded parental rights and prohibited explicit content by “establishing clear standards for school library content across the state” through “applying the same content standards used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),” which sets the standards for public broadcasts.
In other words, if a school library gives children access to more pornographic media than what they would normally be able/allowed to access via other media, then schools are failing to protect the minds of children.
Patrick noted that the books in question are incredibly vulgar and stated that the groups advocating for children to have access to these explicit books illustrate “the undermining of family values that’s going on by the left.”
Bonnie Wallace told Patrick on the podcast, “They hate God. They hate family. They hate men to be heads of the family… They want to kill babies [in the womb] but if they can’t kill them, then they want them perverted and their minds distorted."
In fact, these books are so explicit that Wallace has actually been escorted out of school board meetings or had her microphone turned off because she read books aloud in those meetings — the same books that are sitting on the shelves of the district's libraries; school board members claimed the books were “inappropriate to read out loud.”
Yet children in schools have access to these materials.
Wallace’s advocacy extends beyond Texas, as she actively collaborates with other advocacy groups like Rated Books, Protect Texas Children, and Take Back the Classroom.
Rated Books was started by Brooke Stephens to help get legislation passed in Utah in 2022 after she had concerns over the books she found in the school library. She thought that showing the principal a few of the books would fix the problem, but the books were challenged and then retained. Stephens quickly realized legislation was necessary to remove the sexually explicit content.
State legislators wanted to see the proof of the sexually explicit, vulgar, and obscene content in the books, and evidence that the books were in fact in the schools.
Stephens told Live Action News that the response from the other concerned individuals was immense, since “to most people, it's obvious that many of these books are not intended for children.”
Stephens stated:
“Teams of parents worked hours and hours searching school catalogs. Grandmother groups read books and reported their findings. Teams across the nation began to work together.”
Stephens noted that the need for a rating system and summarized list of concerns about the books quickly became apparent.
The rating system established by Rated Books mirrors the Motion Picture Association’s ratings systems for movies, television programs, and video games.
The “Explicit Content Rating Scale” rates and summarizes books, scoring content on a scale of from 0 (all ages) to 5 (deviant content, adult only).
Notably, Rated Books only documents books found in K-12 schools, and so far has found:
75 books that discuss abortion
21 books that deal with bestiality
49 books about gender transitioning/gender dysphoria
39 books with cannibalism
13 books about necrophilia (sexual acts or attraction to dead bodies)
59 books about pedophilia
Over 700 books with sexual activities/depictions/references
Miriam Evans, Protect Texas Children’s (PTC) Behind the Shelves Field Coordinator, told Live Action News:
“Parents assume that if a book is shelved in the children's or teen section, someone has already vetted it. What we keep finding is that no one has. Behind The Shelves exists to close that gap.”
To help spread awareness of the vulgarity of the books, PTC and Bonnie Wallace have set up conversation areas outside libraries to show the public what their tax dollars are paying for.
Evans says that PTC trains parents how to search their library’s books, and how to bring concerning content to board members and officials. She further explained (emphasis added):
“To be clear: we are not flagging anatomy or health material. These are books depicting explicit sex acts-some of it directing children to pornographic websites and performers. Many books are banned for Texas State prisoners, and they are catalogued for underage children. Once a parent sees the actual pages, the conversation changes."
Lt. Gov. Patrick and Bonnie Wallace agree.
After a profound response to their podcast discussion, Patrick and Wallace held a press conference at the State Capitol where the Planned Parenthood-recommended book, “Let’s Talk About It,” was made available to media personnel in attendance.
“We brought copies for each of you, because if you do not see the content, you cannot understand,” Wallace stated.
“I don’t think you can accurately report on this unless you open this book. Just this one book. It will shock you,” Patrick told attending media personnel.
Pro-abortion group AFY's “Hope in a Box” catalog has over 200 “LGBTQ-inclusive books for all ages” listed.
So far, Rated Books has listed 70 of those books on its website. Live Action News identified over 20 with at least a 3/5 rating or higher (again, with 0 being for all ages and 5 being adult-only/deviant content).
Eight books were rated 4/5; these included things like graphic or gratuitous violence; explicit sexual nudity; graphic depictions of sexual activities, shockingly profane, sexual, or obscene content to denigrate or ridicule revered religious figures, symbols, or texts; and reference or links to BDSM, sex toys, kinks and fetishes.
One book, “Middlesex,” by Jeffrey Eugenides (Rated Books report linked; WARNING: GRAPHIC), was identified as a 5/5. It includes content such as animal cruelty, cannibalism, body horror/gore and violence; explicit descriptions or depictions of aberrant sexual activities including sexual assault, battery, bestiality, or sadomasochistic abuse.
Planned Parenthood and its affiliates not only support the books promoted by coalition partners AFY, the ALA, and the NCAC, but also promote lists and authors of their own choosing, such as:
“Sex is a Funny Word: A book about bodies, feelings, and you,” by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth. Planned Parenthood recommends this book for children, but Rated Books gives the book a rating of 4/5, as it "contains graphic illustrations involving sexual nudity; sexual activities; sexuality and alternate gender ideologies.”
“Let’s Talk About It” and “Drawn to Sex: Our Bodies Series” by Erika Moen & Matthew Nolan. “Drawn to Sex” was sponsored by Planned Parenthood CW in 2017. Rated Books gives both books a rating of 4/5 noting (Rated Books reports linked; WARNING: GRAPHIC). “Let’s Talk About It” concerns include “obscene sexual illustrations and commentary; obscene sexual nudity; profanity; and alternate gender ideologies.”
During the interview with the Texas Lt. Governor, Bonnie Wallace explained that "Let's Talk About It" was published by Random House Children’s Books, which added a disclaimer stating, “the authors and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects which may result from the use or application of information contained in this book.”
Wallace noted that the book tells readers to “look up interviews with your favorite porn performer. Go to the sites they recommend and pay for your porn.”
Wallace said the book was awarded “2022 great graphic novel of the year for 12-year-old children.”
“Drawn to Sex: Our Bodies and Health”: Concerns include “abortion, alternate gender/sexual ideologies, BDSM, controversial gender, political and social commentary, crude sexual humor, explicit sexual activities/nudity, explicit sexual dialogue, gender transitioning, and sex toys.”
“Trans+: Love, Sex, Romance, and Being You” by Kathyrn Gonzalez and Dr. Karen Rayne, Rated Books reports linked; WARNING: GRAPHIC). Wallace explained that this book has seventy-five QR codes, and tracks the locations of those who scan it. The QR codes include locations to “nearby orgies,” pornography and sex toy sites, and sites instructing readers how to “transition.”
The number of parents, grandparents, and other concerned citizens getting involved continues to grow.
So far, eight new PTC Behind the Shelves chapters have been established across Texas, with each chapter receiving “ongoing training, community awareness outreach” and learning how to “engage with public schools and library boards.” These groups could soon help state lawmakers ensure there is accountability.
As the next Texas legislative session is set to begin next year, Lt. Gov. Patrick promised find a way to cut funding for districts who continue to disregard the law.
“We are not going to have this filth and vulgarity and violence of graphic scenes of rape, of stories of teachers and students having a sexual affair, in our school libraries," he said. "We’re going to put an end to this.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·Coalition strives to protect children from sexually explicit materials in schools
Explicit books heavily promoted by Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, and their allies continue to plague school library shelves across the country — books aimed at shaping children’s developing minds to align with gender ideology and a pro-abortion agenda. But child protection advocacy groups across the country — like Rated Books, Protect Texas Children (PTC), and Recover America — have teamed up to push back.
A coalition of child protection advocacy groups in Texas has teamed up to draw attention to and fight sexually explicit materials in children's school libraries and classrooms.
These explicit materials are largely distributed and promoted by Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, SIECUS, the American Library Association, and the National Coalition Against Censorship.
Texas passed a law prohibiting explicit materials for minors by “establishing clear standards for school library content across the state” through “applying the same content standards used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)."
One child protection advocacy group has established a ratings system to evaluate the books most often found in school libraries and classrooms, evaluating them on a scale of 0-5, with 0 being appropriate for "all ages" and 5 being "deviant/adult only" content. This is a tool meant to inform parents and other concerned adults.
Planned Parenthood and its allies — Advocates for Youth (AFY), SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change (formerly Sexuality Information & Education Council of the U.S.), the American Library Association (ALA), the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), and others — work together to promote pornographic content and gender-ideology that are easily accessible to minors. As Live Action News has reported, there is a historical alliance between Planned Parenthood, the ALA, and the NCAC.
These groups also utilize the same talking points — like the erroneous claim that parents are the pesky “vocal minority” who want to “ban” books, glossing over the fact that the books are sexually explicit and not age-appropriate. These books aren't even "banned"; every single one of them is easily accessible and available for purchase across the country.
In schools where students should be learning necessary subjects like math, science, and reading comprehension, these groups advocate to ensure that pornographic books are placed inside classrooms and school libraries, exposing minors to concepts such as rape, incest, pedophilia, sex toys, science-denying gender ideology, and information about how and where to access other pornography.
These books find their way into schools via multiple pathways:
The ALA provides recommended book lists to libraries across the country.
Many Planned Parenthood affiliates also have book recommendations for minors.
There are also programs like AFY’s “Hope in a Box” which describes itself as equipping “K-12 educators with LGBTQ-inclusive curricula, training, and mentorship.” AFY’s program sends a “curated book list, curriculum guides, and toolkits… to hundreds of additional school libraries and Language Arts classes.”
Live Action News previously reported that “[m]any of the same books on the ALA recommended book list are sent directly to school districts nationwide through the “Hope in a Box” program, despite parental objections.”
Last month, Bonnie Wallace, legislative liaison with Recover America, appeared on Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's podcast to discuss the child protection advocacy coalition's ongoing attempts to remove explicit materials from the school libraries.
These materials violate Texas Senate Bill (SB) 13, which expanded parental rights and prohibited explicit content by “establishing clear standards for school library content across the state” through “applying the same content standards used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),” which sets the standards for public broadcasts.
In other words, if a school library gives children access to more pornographic media than what they would normally be able/allowed to access via other media, then schools are failing to protect the minds of children.
Patrick noted that the books in question are incredibly vulgar and stated that the groups advocating for children to have access to these explicit books illustrate “the undermining of family values that’s going on by the left.”
Bonnie Wallace told Patrick on the podcast, “They hate God. They hate family. They hate men to be heads of the family… They want to kill babies [in the womb] but if they can’t kill them, then they want them perverted and their minds distorted."
In fact, these books are so explicit that Wallace has actually been escorted out of school board meetings or had her microphone turned off because she read books aloud in those meetings — the same books that are sitting on the shelves of the district's libraries; school board members claimed the books were “inappropriate to read out loud.”
Yet children in schools have access to these materials.
Wallace’s advocacy extends beyond Texas, as she actively collaborates with other advocacy groups like Rated Books, Protect Texas Children, and Take Back the Classroom.
Rated Books was started by Brooke Stephens to help get legislation passed in Utah in 2022 after she had concerns over the books she found in the school library. She thought that showing the principal a few of the books would fix the problem, but the books were challenged and then retained. Stephens quickly realized legislation was necessary to remove the sexually explicit content.
State legislators wanted to see the proof of the sexually explicit, vulgar, and obscene content in the books, and evidence that the books were in fact in the schools.
Stephens told Live Action News that the response from the other concerned individuals was immense, since “to most people, it's obvious that many of these books are not intended for children.”
Stephens stated:
“Teams of parents worked hours and hours searching school catalogs. Grandmother groups read books and reported their findings. Teams across the nation began to work together.”
Stephens noted that the need for a rating system and summarized list of concerns about the books quickly became apparent.
The rating system established by Rated Books mirrors the Motion Picture Association’s ratings systems for movies, television programs, and video games.
The “Explicit Content Rating Scale” rates and summarizes books, scoring content on a scale of from 0 (all ages) to 5 (deviant content, adult only).
Notably, Rated Books only documents books found in K-12 schools, and so far has found:
75 books that discuss abortion
21 books that deal with bestiality
49 books about gender transitioning/gender dysphoria
39 books with cannibalism
13 books about necrophilia (sexual acts or attraction to dead bodies)
59 books about pedophilia
Over 700 books with sexual activities/depictions/references
Miriam Evans, Protect Texas Children’s (PTC) Behind the Shelves Field Coordinator, told Live Action News:
“Parents assume that if a book is shelved in the children's or teen section, someone has already vetted it. What we keep finding is that no one has. Behind The Shelves exists to close that gap.”
To help spread awareness of the vulgarity of the books, PTC and Bonnie Wallace have set up conversation areas outside libraries to show the public what their tax dollars are paying for.
Evans says that PTC trains parents how to search their library’s books, and how to bring concerning content to board members and officials. She further explained (emphasis added):
“To be clear: we are not flagging anatomy or health material. These are books depicting explicit sex acts-some of it directing children to pornographic websites and performers. Many books are banned for Texas State prisoners, and they are catalogued for underage children. Once a parent sees the actual pages, the conversation changes."
Lt. Gov. Patrick and Bonnie Wallace agree.
After a profound response to their podcast discussion, Patrick and Wallace held a press conference at the State Capitol where the Planned Parenthood-recommended book, “Let’s Talk About It,” was made available to media personnel in attendance.
“We brought copies for each of you, because if you do not see the content, you cannot understand,” Wallace stated.
“I don’t think you can accurately report on this unless you open this book. Just this one book. It will shock you,” Patrick told attending media personnel.
Pro-abortion group AFY's “Hope in a Box” catalog has over 200 “LGBTQ-inclusive books for all ages” listed.
So far, Rated Books has listed 70 of those books on its website. Live Action News identified over 20 with at least a 3/5 rating or higher (again, with 0 being for all ages and 5 being adult-only/deviant content).
Eight books were rated 4/5; these included things like graphic or gratuitous violence; explicit sexual nudity; graphic depictions of sexual activities, shockingly profane, sexual, or obscene content to denigrate or ridicule revered religious figures, symbols, or texts; and reference or links to BDSM, sex toys, kinks and fetishes.
One book, “Middlesex,” by Jeffrey Eugenides (Rated Books report linked; WARNING: GRAPHIC), was identified as a 5/5. It includes content such as animal cruelty, cannibalism, body horror/gore and violence; explicit descriptions or depictions of aberrant sexual activities including sexual assault, battery, bestiality, or sadomasochistic abuse.
Planned Parenthood and its affiliates not only support the books promoted by coalition partners AFY, the ALA, and the NCAC, but also promote lists and authors of their own choosing, such as:
“Sex is a Funny Word: A book about bodies, feelings, and you,” by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth. Planned Parenthood recommends this book for children, but Rated Books gives the book a rating of 4/5, as it "contains graphic illustrations involving sexual nudity; sexual activities; sexuality and alternate gender ideologies.”
“Let’s Talk About It” and “Drawn to Sex: Our Bodies Series” by Erika Moen & Matthew Nolan. “Drawn to Sex” was sponsored by Planned Parenthood CW in 2017. Rated Books gives both books a rating of 4/5 noting (Rated Books reports linked; WARNING: GRAPHIC). “Let’s Talk About It” concerns include “obscene sexual illustrations and commentary; obscene sexual nudity; profanity; and alternate gender ideologies.”
During the interview with the Texas Lt. Governor, Bonnie Wallace explained that "Let's Talk About It" was published by Random House Children’s Books, which added a disclaimer stating, “the authors and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects which may result from the use or application of information contained in this book.”
Wallace noted that the book tells readers to “look up interviews with your favorite porn performer. Go to the sites they recommend and pay for your porn.”
Wallace said the book was awarded “2022 great graphic novel of the year for 12-year-old children.”
“Drawn to Sex: Our Bodies and Health”: Concerns include “abortion, alternate gender/sexual ideologies, BDSM, controversial gender, political and social commentary, crude sexual humor, explicit sexual activities/nudity, explicit sexual dialogue, gender transitioning, and sex toys.”
“Trans+: Love, Sex, Romance, and Being You” by Kathyrn Gonzalez and Dr. Karen Rayne, Rated Books reports linked; WARNING: GRAPHIC). Wallace explained that this book has seventy-five QR codes, and tracks the locations of those who scan it. The QR codes include locations to “nearby orgies,” pornography and sex toy sites, and sites instructing readers how to “transition.”
The number of parents, grandparents, and other concerned citizens getting involved continues to grow.
So far, eight new PTC Behind the Shelves chapters have been established across Texas, with each chapter receiving “ongoing training, community awareness outreach” and learning how to “engage with public schools and library boards.” These groups could soon help state lawmakers ensure there is accountability.
As the next Texas legislative session is set to begin next year, Lt. Gov. Patrick promised find a way to cut funding for districts who continue to disregard the law.
“We are not going to have this filth and vulgarity and violence of graphic scenes of rape, of stories of teachers and students having a sexual affair, in our school libraries," he said. "We’re going to put an end to this.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Bridget Sielicki
·Issues
Nancy Flanders
·Human Interest
Nancy Flanders
·Issues
Bridget Sielicki
·Issues
Bridget Sielicki
·Issues
Sheena Rodriguez
·Issues
Sheena Rodriguez
·Opinion
Sheena Rodriguez
·Issues
Sheena Rodriguez
·Issues
Sheena Rodriguez
·Issues
Sheena Rodriguez
·