Progressive parents across Pennsylvania are organizing to monitor school boards in a pushback against book bans and other actions they consider harmful. Maddie Hanna reported the effort in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Parent Stephanie Jamison started a group for progressive parents in Souderton Area School District to counter complaints — including allegations of pornography in school libraries — that she felt were coordinated.

Her effort joins the new network that has been enlisting volunteers statewide to track school policies presented by conservative advocates. The program is run by the pro-public-education group Education Voters PA, which is working on creating a database of harmful actions boards are considering.

In addition to book bans, the topics being flagged include censorship of what teachers can say and policies that are discriminatory toward LGBTQ+ students.

While Souderton has drawn relatively little attention compared with some of its neighboring school districts, Jamison is worried that it could adopt similar policies. Getting a group of parents to join her efforts helped provide support for all of them.

“Most of us are doing this in isolation,” she said. “To have this opportunity to connect with other people across the state … it’s exactly what we need right now.”

Read more about the issue facing the Souderton Area School District (and others) in The Philadelphia Inquirer.