Moms for Liberty held a meeting with Bill Brewer, an ambassador of Moms for Liberty, in Lancaster on Nov. 20, speaking about parental rights and protecting students in schools.
Moms for Liberty is an organization started in Florida by several school board members, and it has spread across the nation. It claims to fight “woke indoctrination” of children by advocating for book bans in school libraries as well as endorsing candidates for public office that align with the group’s views. The group has been growing in Wisconsin, with 11 current county chapters. The Platteville Journal quoted Brewer as wanting three local chapters to be established in Grant, Lafayette and Crawford counties.
Within two weeks of the meeting in Lancaster, the Platteville School District announced it had received “Reconsideration of Material” requests on several books. Most notably, the requests target the graphic novel series “Heartstopper,” which is free on Webtoons and is a popular show on Netflix, and “It’s Perfectly Normal,” which explains the basics of sexuality and puberty to middle schoolers. These challenges are notable because these items were called “nothing short of soft-core pornography” by a mom speaking at a Nov. 13 school board meeting. The same mother has removed her children from the school district over what she calls “transparency issues” within the district. These books are two of six being challenged. Many of the books contain non-explicit LGBTQ+ content.
In response to the reconsideration requests, the Platteville School District formed a committee called the Library Material Reconsideration Committee which met for the first time on Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. This meeting was not intended to seek public input, but rather to introduce the committee and provide an overview of the goals and responsibilities.
The committee consists of one teaching staff member, one library staff member, one administrative staff member and a community member who is yet to be appointed. The next meeting for the committee will be in Jan. to give them time to review the books and reconsider requests, with a Feb. 18 deadline for whether the materials conform to the principles of selection outlined in the district’s Selection of Learning Resources policy and whether the books can stay in the schools’ libraries.
