Kansas bill on teacher prosecution stalled

A bill in the Kansas state legislature that would allow the prosecution of teachers for promoting obscenity has been sent back to committee. The bill "would end the automatic protection elementary, middle and high school teachers enjoy from prosecution over materials used in classes," reports Associated Press. The Kansas-National Education Association opposes the bill because it could be used to prosecute teachers for having students read novels containing vulgar language or sexual scenes.

According to AP: "On legislators' minds was the ongoing dispute between parents and officials in the Blue Valley school district in Johnson County over books on its reading lists. The novels to which parents object include Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning Beloved, Wright's Black Boy, and Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. All three books are on Blue Valley's reading lists for students.."