Kansas Senate Bill 56, after being passed in the Senate, was considered in the Kansas House Committee of the Judiciary on Feb. 2. This bill, if passed, would allow for teachers and school administrators to be prosecuted for presenting “harmful” material to minors (students who are 18 or older are deemed as minors in this bill) like any other citizen.

Lawmakers got the idea for this bill from a controversial sex education poster that was hung up in a science teacher’s classroom at Hocker Grove Middle School, SM North’s feeder school.

The bill doesn’t define harmful, however, it does describe some manners of “harmful” material, such as nudity or sexual material.

Kansas Senator Greg Smith, who is also a teacher at Westridge Middle School, says that everything about the bill is already law, except for the part where teachers are prosecuted.

“Without reading the bill, people get confused,” Smith said. “The only thing that is different about this bill than the current law that is in place, is two words.”

A main concern for teachers, especially with social studies teachers, is whether or not they can show art, such as the Statue of David to their class without facing repercussions.

“The bill will not arrest teachers for showing things like the Statue of David to their students,” Smith said. “If I were to show my grandchildren that statue, would I be arrested? No.”

The bill is already becoming a hot topic around SM North with teachers. Journalism adviser Becky Tate said that she’s worried about what she would be able to teach in her 21st Century Journalism classes, where they discuss court cases about controversial high school news stories and First Amendment rights.