The mother of a Hermon school system student is calling on school officials to adopt policies that will regulate whether students of a certain age can access sexually explicit and adult-themed books at the school library.
“We are asking the Hermon School Department Committee to implement age-appropriate standards regarding sexual content for minors,” said Regina Leonard.
“A review of the Hermon School Library System catalog conducted in December 2022, revealed more than 83 books that contain erotic content, explicit descriptions of sexual assault including child rape, sexual abuse, explicit sexual activities, prostitution involving minors, and/or bestiality commentary,” Leonard said in a press release.
Leonard, who has a 7th grader Hermon Middle School, has been advocating for such a system for well over a year.
But so far, Hermon school officials haven’t budged.
At a meeting of the school board’s policy committee in December, Leonard sparred with school board members over what she said was their inaction in face of parents’ requests for a system that would ensure students can’t access adult material without parental knowledge or consent.
That meeting ended suddenly when Hermon School Board Chair Kristen Quinn Shorey realized a parent had been video recording the meeting.
In the press release, Leonard said she’s inviting other parents to attend the Jan. 9 meeting of the Hermon School Department Committee meeting at 6:30, at Hermon High School.