California Bill Restricting Kids’ Access to Books with Sexual Content Dies in Senate Committee

The bill’s author said she was targeting “material that our own federal government considers too obscene for adults to hear or view on radio and television.”

Donated LGBTQ+ books are displayed in the library at Nystrom Elementary School in Richmond, Calif., on May 17, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California lawmakers killed a bill April 17 that would have required school districts to restrict books with “harmful” sexual content from elementary and middle school classrooms and libraries.

Senate Bill 1435, introduced by Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh in February, would have required school boards to restrict books with content considered harmful under California Penal Code 313 from being accessed by children below eighth grade.