(WASHINGTON)— PEN America and five library, booksellers, and anti-censorship organizations along with a major publishing house urged Congress today to oppose H.R. 2616, a bill intended to censor speech and instruction in schools related to gender and LGBTQ+ identities. The bill is up for a vote in the House this week.
In a letter sent to members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the groups wrote: “H.R. 2616 constitutes an educational gag order that would restrict federal funds to impose ideological orthodoxy, chill classroom dialogue, and erase LGBTQ+ representation in schools. The bill, which would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the use of federal funding to ‘teach or advance concepts related to gender ideology,’ would task administrators with interpreting and enforcing vague directives to avoid extreme financial penalties. As we’ve seen at the state-level, when school districts are forced to guess what constitutes ‘concepts related to gender ideology,’ broad censorship tends to follow. A memoir by an intersex person; a U.S. history lesson that references the LGBTQ+ rights movement; or a biology textbook that mentions clownfish or other animals who change sex could all be censored under this bill.”
The letter was signed by the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, Authors Against Book Bans, the National Coalition Against Censorship, EveryLibrary, PEN America, and Penguin Random House.
The letter also notes how the bill “includes a ‘forced outing’ provision, mandating a cruel anti-LGBTQ+ provision across all public school students. Requiring parental consent for gender markers, pronouns, and names for students chills self-expression and restricts the rights of individuals to inhabit and represent their own authentic identity and to share that experience with others. Educators, librarians, and local communities should make decisions about their schools and don’t need politicians in Washington censoring their teachers and creating fear in their classrooms. Congress should vote NO on H.R. 2616 and and refuse to impose educational gag orders in our schools.”
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 201-247-5057