Florida lawmaker introduces bill to jail publishers for funneling 'sexually explicit materials' to schools

Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) introduced legislation earlier this month that would jail publishers for providing sexually explicit materials to schools.

“From school board meetings to new representation in local, state, and federal levels, Americans are waking up to the grim reality of woke indoctrination guised as a normal education," the freshman Florida lawmaker said in a statement earlier this month.

"No more.”

A spokesman for Mills provided TheBlaze with a copy of the proposed legislation.

Mills' bill, H.R. 863, "End the Sexualization of Children in Schools," would amend Chapter 71 of title 18 of the United States code.

The bill addresses publishing houses that "knowingly furnish an elementary school, a secondary school, a local educational agency, or a State educational agency with published material containing sexually explicit visual depiction of any kind, including a picture, photograph, or drawing."

Publishing houses that do so, under Mills' proposed legislation, would face fines up to $500,000.

The president, director, manager, or officer authorizing or furnishing such material could face both fines and imprisonment of up to five years.

H.R. 863 would also prohibit federal funds for schools or educational agencies that obtain sexually explicit material "until such time that the school relinquishes or destroys the published material."

The proposed federal funding cutoff would apply to local or state educational agencies that knowingly distribute such materials to elementary schools or secondary schools.

Published materials, for the purpose of H.R. 863, includes books, magazines, newspapers, or other material, including digital versions of the same. The bill provides exceptions for materials with "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

“The battlefield for the future of our society is being fought within the classrooms of American schools," Mills said in a statement earlier this month.

"This bill targets the Left’s efforts to sexualize children in schools across the U.S.," Mills also said.

The bill's current cosponsors include Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.), Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.), Rep Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), and Rep. Gregory Murphy (R-N.C.).

Mills' proposed bill comes amid a flurry of controversy over the distribution of sexually explicit material in schools.

Thursday, a pair of schools in Charlotte, North Carolina pulled material from its collections following complaints by parents about the sexually explicit nature of the material.

One of the books of concern among Charlotte parents is the graphic novel "Let's Talk About It" by Erika Moen.

"Let's Talk About It," per the Charlotte Observer, "contains sexual illustrations and illustrations of sexual positions with commentary," a book Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration categorized as "pornographic."