CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Former mayor and congressman Lou Barletta, a Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, yesterday stood with outraged parents in Chester County and vowed to address concerns about graphic sexual materials available to schoolchildren as early as elementary school. Barletta appeared with parents in Frazer to hear their personal experiences with school materials, while he pledged to guarantee the rights of parents to be aware of and involved in what their kids are being taught.
“There are books in schools that contain text and pictures that are extremely graphic and sexual, and they are available to kids who should be considered too young for that kind of information,” Barletta said. “And when I am governor, we will restore the rights of parents in the education of their children. We will guarantee the rights of parents to be notified and informed of the entire school curriculum. We will guarantee the right to information about textbooks and teaching materials.”
Chester County parents contacted Barletta to alert him to certain books that are available to children all the way down to elementary school age. The books, which contain graphic illustrations of sexual acts between young people and extremely sexual text passages, include titles like “All boys aren’t blue,” “Gender Queer,” “Push,” and “George.” The parents say they have discovered that the books are available in at least the school districts of Great Valley, West Chester Area, and Downingtown.
“I showed these pictures to our school board and testified in a meeting, and none of the school board members would so much as look at me,” said Chester County parent Fenicia Redman. “If someone showed these pictures to a neighbor’s child, they’d be arrested, but these books are in libraries where young children can find them. Of all the candidates for governor who I spoke to about this, only Lou Barletta asked how he could help.”
“We will guarantee the right to be notified when lessons and materials deviate from the written public curriculum,” Barletta said. “And we will not permit sexually explicit materials in our schools for children too young to understand them, without parents’ knowledge.”
Barletta has promised to stop Pennsylvania schools from teaching Critical Race Theory, which pits students of different skin color against each other and teaches them to hate or mistrust each other. Additionally, Barletta is the only candidate for governor who has signed the 1776 pledge, indicating that he will require that schools teach American history accurately.
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