ACLU sues Missouri over book ban law that pushed school libraries to remove hundreds of titles

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The law, which went into effect in late August, made it a crime to provide minors with sexually explicit visual material. Librarians or other school officials could face up to a year in jail or a $2,000 fine for violating the policy.

As the law went into effect, many librarians across the state went through their collections removing anything they thought could be considered criminal.

Under the law, the ACLU argues that school staff are forced to choose between students' First Amendment rights and prosecution.

“The law presents specific peril for school librarians, but also endangers the work and livelihoods of public and academic librarians who work with K-12 schools in various capacities,” Joe Kohlburn of the Missouri Library Association said in a statement. “Librarians have been undermined politically in this state for long enough, and the fear of prosecution is an ongoing issue for keeping qualified professionals in Missouri, as well as bringing new people into the profession."

In its lawsuit, the ACLU argues that the law violates educators’ due process rights because it uses vague language that invites government overreach and does not differentiate school employees' official capacity from their personal capacity — leaving them open to even more legal repercussions.

The law makes it illegal to provide students with visual depictions of things considered sexually explicit, including genitals and sex acts. There are exceptions to the law for works of art or materials used in science courses."...

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