FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16th, 2025
Contact: Ashley Vaughan
ashley@ncvalues.org

NC HOUSE PASSES HB 636 TO PROTECT STUDENTS FROM SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIALS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

RALEIGH, NC — Today, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed House Bill 636 to solve the urgent problem of pornographic materials in NC public schools. The bill sets statewide standards for identifying and removing sexually explicit and pervasively vulgar materials from public school libraries. The goal of this legislation is to protect students from early sexualization and harmful psychological impacts of pornography exposure.

“Exposing children to sexual images and concepts—especially perverse ones—is a grave moral wrong,” said NC Values Coalition Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald. “We are grateful to the NC House members that sponsored and supported this urgently needed bill. We must protect children from exposure to books that rob them of their innocence and cause emotional harm instead of helping them grow and thrive.”

HB 636 was crafted in response to growing concern among parents and community members that public school libraries contain inappropriate books with sexually graphic content.In Wake County alone, 54 schools possess books such as Gender Queer, Lawn Boy, and Push—each containing graphic sexual content that many believe has no place in the education of children. Polls show that the overwhelming majority of parents support removing these materials from schools.

What HB 636 Does:

• Requires each school district to adopt a policy for selecting and removing books and materials, using clear, statewide criteria

• Prohibits materials that include descriptions or visual depictions of sexual activity or pervasive vulgarity

• Ensures donated books and book fair titles are screened for explicit content

• Empowers parents to review and object to specific books and gives them recourse if the law is violated

Janet Peterson of the Pavement Education Project, which has helped expose thousands of explicit titles in NC schools, said, “We’ve identified over 38,000 harmful books across 104 school districts. These aren’t children’s classics—we’re talking about erotic fiction and ‘how-to’ guides for sexual acts. It’s heartbreaking and outrageous.”

The primary sponsors of the bill are Representatives Neal Jackson, Brian Biggs, David Willis, and Jennifer Balkcom.

The bill now moves to the North Carolina Senate for consideration. Advocates are urging swift passage to protect students across the state.

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