Alaska school districts and libraries that disseminate sexualized content, pornographic books or controversial sex-education material to minors have been officially put on notice by Attorney General Treg Taylor.

In a series of letters sent to the education department, school districts and libraries, Taylor addressed rising concerns about violations of parental rights and the use of schools and libraries to push sexualized content on kids. 

Taylor’s letters, dated Nov. 16, aim to clarify state laws and remind school districts that they must follow them.

In particular, he emphasized that schools are required to notify parents before discussing sexual matters with children or offering instruction on sexual topics.

“In light of the questions and concerns that have come up, I thought it best to inform everyone of what the law says to avoid further confusion,” Taylor wrote. “Whether or not there has been a violation of the law will always be a fact-specific inquiry, so these letters do not cast any blame. The purpose is simply to provide information that can help school districts and libraries comply with the law.”

Taylor said his letters were in response to controversies that have arisen in the State Legislature, the media, school districts, municipalities, and the public at large.

“The letters issued today, in conjunction with the Attorney General Opinion, attempt to address these questions and concerns in a uniform way, putting everyone on notice as to what the law actually requires,” a notice regarding the letters states.

SCHOOLS

Taylor’s opinion notes that Alaska’s parental notification law makes it clear that school districts have a responsibility to notify parents before offering training or classes about sexuality, including gender identity.

In his letter to school districts, Taylor reminded educators that “all local school boards” must adopt and follow policies and procedures that provide parental notification “not less than two weeks before any activity, class, or program that includes content involving human reproduction or sexual matters is provided to a child.”

“It is the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s duty to make sure this statute is appropriately implemented by each school district and that these important parental notification requirements are in place,” Taylor said.

He then noted that he is aware that some school districts may be in violation of this legal requirement by failing to adopt an appropriate policy or by erroneously implementing the requirements of state law.

Furthermore, the parental notice requirement is not limited to sex-ed type classes, but to all courses which have “some ‘content’ regarding ‘human reproduction or sexual matters.’

“It appears that some school districts have wrongly interpreted ‘human reproduction or sexual matters’ to not include the concept of ‘gender identity,’” he wrote. “This interpretation both rejects case law, the common understanding of these terms, and the legislature’s intent of passing this statute. The legislature intended ‘human reproduction or sexual matters’ to be a broad concept which does encompass gender identity issues.”

The only exemptions to the law were for “sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention training,” Taylor clarified.

He added that the law does not allow educators to offer “more than succinct answer to a child’s question and certainly does not offer an end-around to the requirements of parental notification. The legislature explicitly intended this parental notification statute to apply to more than just a formal class, applying the statue broadly to any activity, class, or program.”

Furthermore, the parental notice requirement is not limited to sex-ed type classes, but to all courses which have “some ‘content’ regarding ‘human reproduction or sexual matters.’ This means that this requirement can be triggered in any class such as English, Social Studies, and Science, not just Health class,” Taylor clarified.

He reminded school districts that they are lawfully bound to “enshrine in official district policies” guaranteeing that parents have the right to “object to and withdraw the child from an activity, class, or program” and “to review the content of any activity, class, performance standard, or program.”

The purpose of this letter is to help inform public servants on what the law is so that no one is caught off guard.

Furthermore, Taylor emphasized that school districts can “not allow anyone to teach or conduct an activity, class, or program related to sex education, human reproduction education, or human sexuality education without approval of the specific instructor by the school board,” and that those instructors’ credentials must be made available to parents.

“Failure of school districts to comply is a violation of state statute,” Taylor warned. “Failure of school district employees to comply is a violation of state statute. As school districts navigate compliance with the law, please be mindful of the protections given to public employees who report a violation of state, federal or municipal law, regulation, or ordinance under Alaska’s Whistleblower Act or similar municipal ordinance.”

Taylor urged school districts to review their policies and procedures and to take “actions to make sure they are fully compliant with the law.”

LIBRARIES

As for libraries, Taylor noted that “over the past year, members of the public have raised significant concerns regarding books that may be viewed by, and made available to, minors in certain school or public libraries.”

“Specifically, these concerns have focused on books that have graphic depictions of sexual content that are available for viewing by children and teenagers,” he wrote.

Taylor warned that libraries should “be aware of the legal framework that prohibits certain actions regarding minors and indecent materials. The purpose of this letter is to help inform public servants on what the law is so that no one is caught off guard.”

He went on to review state, local and federal laws, as they pertain to libraries.

On the state level, there are three criminal statutes that are relevant: AS11.61.128 on the distribution of indecent materials to minors, AS 11.41.130, which addresses enticement of a minor, and AS 11.51.130 – contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

In the first instance the perpetrator must be older than 18, and acting with the intention of distributing to a child under age 16 content that the person knew includes actual or simulated sexual penetration; lewd touching of a person’s genitals, anus, or female breast; masturbation; bestiality; the lewd exhibition of a person’s genitals, anus, or female breast; or sexual masochism or sadism.

Taylor said that he would need to review the facts of specific cases before proceeding with charges.

The content must also be deemed “harmful to minors,” which means the “average individual, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest in sex for persons under 16 years of age; (2) a reasonable person would find that the material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, educational, political, or scientific value for persons under 16 years of age; and (3) the material depicts actual or simulated conduct in a way that is patently offensive to the prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for persons under 16 years of age.”

Taylor noted that such violations are punishable as a class C felony crime.

Similarly, the “enticement of a minor” statute covers much of the same ground, but deals with instances when a defendant “knowingly communicated with another person to entice, solicit, or encourage the person to engage in any sexual activity.

Enticement of a minor is a class B felony offense and does not require proof that the other person engaged in the act. Mere enticement is enough to be found guilty.

“Please also note that for a defendant to be guilty of this offence, the enticement, solicitation, or encouragement to engage in the acts does not need to be with the defendant or in front of the defendant,” Taylor cautioned, “it is a violation of this offense if the defendant entices, solicits, or encourages a child under 16 to engage in these acts with anyone, including another child or themselves.”

With regard to “delinquency of a minor” (AS 11.51.130), Taylor noted that the law requires the state to prove that the defendant was 19 years of age or older, and knowingly aided, induced, caused, or encouraged a child under 18 years of age to do any act prohibited by state law.”

Taylor said that he would need to review the facts of specific cases before proceeding with charges.

In addition to state laws, Taylor said municipal ordinances also must be followed with regard to these behaviors.  He advised libraries to “do a review of any applicable municipal ordinances to ensure the material in your library complies with municipal code.”

Finally, Taylor reminded libraries that, while there are no federal laws that have education or library specific laws relevant to what materials a library may provide, school libraries are required, under state law, to provide all library records identifying a minor child to any parent or guardian who seeks that information.

“There are no exceptions to this statute,” Taylor wrote. “The purpose of this letter is to bring awareness and assist school districts and libraries in complying with the law. Of note is that there are no exceptions to any of the laws listed above for administrators, teachers or for librarians.”

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