Most of the battles we see taking place over inappropriate material in school libraries have been unfolding in red states, most notably Florida. But now a similar fight has broken out in the significantly blue state of New York. (Though not quite as blue in 2022 as it was in the past.) In the upstate village of Fairport, New York a group of parents have lawyered up and are bringing pressure on the local school board to get age-inappropriate material out of the schools. But the approach they are taking is rather unique and might prove more effective than attempts in other districts around the country. (PJ Media)

The school board wars are turning up the temperature on porn-pushing administrators. In Fairport, N.Y., a group of parents has grown tired of asking for the school board to remove explicit books and materials from their schools. After months of asking nicely, speaking to the board, writing letters, and other efforts, the Fairport Educational Alliance has hired a lawyer and filed a claim against the board’s insurance bond.

This type of claim has been tried with forced masking in other parts of the country but has been unsuccessful. However, parents in Fairport say the major difference between those complaints and this one is that the school district is breaking federal and state laws which are tied directly to the complaint.

The obscene material in the books being used as “teaching aides” is described in detail in the linked report, but it’s a bit much to go into here. Suffice it to say that two examples of the material being used have visual depictions of children engaged in sexual activity, something explicitly prohibited under New York law. It is, of course, being displayed under the guise of “transgender awareness.” One of the books has QR codes that children can use to open up online sites where far more graphic material awaits, including “tips” on the best ways to perform various sex acts.

Previous court challenges attempting to have material removed from school libraries have come up short in some cases. But the parents’ association in Fairport is taking a different approach. The group’s attorney has filed a claim against the school board’s insurance bond. This will force the insurance company to investigate the situation. If they find that the school board has violated state and federal laws against child endangerment and child pornography, each member will be personally responsible for refunding the insurance company the entire amount of the surety.

It is the members of the school board who are standing in the way of removing the age-inappropriate material. But this could make them personally responsible for the costs as well as for the school losing its mandatory insurance coverage. If you can’t hit them with common sense, hit them in the pocketbook.

The deadline for removing the offending material is tomorrow. If they fail to do so, that will trigger the action with the insurance company in addition to notifications being sent out to the applicable law enforcement groups. That process would take time, but the board members certainly have their own attorneys to advise them. If they learn that a huge bill is on the way and it will be coming out of their own pockets, we might see a positive outcome far sooner than anyone might have expected.