Libraries

The libraries in Rockingham County schools need to be a safe and nurturing place for developing, young minds. Will that take time to figure out? It's possible. In the meantime, the starting point would be obtaining parent permission for students to check out books containing "sexually explicit material". I would propose an opt-IN option for these books. Every student starts the school year with a denial to access, a hard NO, until the parent says, “Yes. Yes, my child has permission to access sexually explicit material.” For years we have had an opt out and it’s designed to make the parent feel like they’re causing the child to miss out on things the other students are doing or learning. I know this from experience with opting my own children out of elementary school Family Life curriculum for 6 years! So start with a NO and let the parents give the YES, not the schools. I realize we have a lot of cleanup to do in this area and there is a way to make this work for all parents.

**As a side note for transparency purposes: I am emphatically opposed to sexually explicit material at all ages. It is not appropriate for children, teenagers, or adults. PERIOD. There is absolutely ZERO amount of literary merit to be found in it. There is a difference in p0rn0gr@phy and health education and that fine line has been crossed in the government school system.**