OKLAHOMA CITY (January 16th) – Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, filed legislation to ensure public and charter school libraries are free from inappropriate materials. Senate Bill 1208 would require each public school district and charter school to submit an inventory of their library materials to the State Department of Education each year.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby, released a statement applauding State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters for working to eliminate all references to American Library Association guidelines in Oklahoma's Information Literacy Standards and proposing new standards that are aligned with Oklahoma values.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 7th) – The full Senate has approved a bill to require school and public libraries to place books into sections labeled elementary, junior high, Under 16 or juniors and seniors. Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, is the author of Senate Bill 397, which was approved by the Senate on Tuesday.
“There is a time and place for conversations about certain subjects, but some of those topics are not suitable for students to be reading about in school,” Hamilton said. “This bill will further efforts to protect children in Oklahoma by only allowing them to access books from libraries that are appropriate for their age.”
OKLAHOMA CITY – Senate Bill 397 was approved by the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday. The bill, authored by Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, would require school and public libraries to label books and other materials as elementary, junior high, under 16, or juniors and seniors. After receiving these designations, the materials would be placed in their respective sections, so students are only able to access books that are appropriate for their age.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 2nd) – Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, has requested a bill that would establish a system to rate books rather than ban them in public schools and libraries. The system follows the standard movie ratings of G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17.
The ratings are designed to give parents a better understanding of the materials their children are reading and allow them to provide parental guidance when necessary. Hamilton said the ultimate goal is to protect young children from inappropriate reading material and give parents peace of mind that their kids cannot access adult content in safe spaces like schools and libraries.
