Let Utah Read

If HB473 passes it will lead to more widespread censorship in our schools, the possible cancellation of contracts for vendors of research databases, and it will leave Utah's students without high quality reliable resources to support their academic success. RESEARCH DATABASES ARE SAFE - MUCH SAFER THAN THE OPEN WEB The bill is being advanced on the false premise that curated, grade-level appropriate databases are not safe for students.  This was proven untrue in 2018, when allegations were brought before the Utah Education Network (UEN), and they were unable to replicate any problematic results. UEN continued to monitor and report on appropriate use of research databases by students from 2018-2023, issuing 28 separate reports. WE HAVE STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS ALREADY IN PLACE TO THAT ADDRESS DATABASE SAFETY Students are protected by the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a federal law that requires schools to block anything that meets the legal definition of “harmful to minors”. Likewise, in 2021, Utah passed HB38 School Technology Amendments which requires digital resources used by students to have safety policies and technology protection measures that prohibit and prevent the sending, receiving, viewing, or downloading obscene or pornographic material. Please sign this petition and then send an email to your state senator (look up your legislator here) asking them not to pass unnecessary regulations that will harm our students, and create another tangled bureaucracy. For key points, see FAQ on HB473

Legislators have continued a power grab, forcing locally elected school board members, elected by their neighbors to set educational policies, to ban hundreds of books regardless of long-standing first amendment law. Now the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) has taken it a step further. The USBE has issued guidance to schools that not only are books banned from libraries -- students are banned from bringing personal copies of books to school. A high school student in Utah with copy of Slaughterhouse Five, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Beloved, The Handmaid's Tale, The Bluest Eye, The Kite Runner, Brave New World, or Out of Darkness are now in danger of being disciplined for being in possession of -- not drugs, not weapons, not pornography -- but mainstream, well-reviewed, and even CLASSIC books. Sign and share If you agree that we need a return to common sense laws that don't punish students for reading.