Kansas City parent confronts school board about sexually explicit books in school libraries, cites ‘solicitation of a minor’ charges

A father of children who attend schools in the North Kansas City School District confronted school board members about sexually graphic passages and images in a handful of books available to minors in the school. Jay Richmond, who also serves as president of the Northland Parent Association, spoke at the October 26th meeting.

He stood at the podium with a colleague who was holding blown up images from one of the books to demonstrate its graphic nature. Richmond said,

If I was to hand this material out to a minor or read or give any of these books to a minor, I would be charged with solicitation of a minor. So my first question to you guys is, why is that any different for you?

He began with the book Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and described scenes of oral sex between two females, also depicted by graphics from the book printed on the displays held up by his colleague.

Next, he read a graphic passage from Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison. The passage describes a 10-year-old boy’s first person experience of oral sex with another boy. 

The third example given was from Ashley Hope Pérez’s Out of Darkness, which Richmond said was labeled as ‘historical fiction’ by the school library. In the passage he read, a stepfather cohearses his stepdaughter into a sexual act. 

As Richmond’s three minutes at the podium expired, he referred to another book and a list of 28 similar books that he and his organization are concerned might also be in the school district. 

“That is called grooming. That is something you guys are pushing in our schools. I want to know why,” Richmond said in his final statement.

The organization Richmond serves, the Northland Parent Association, filed a federal lawsuit opposing mask and related quarantine mandates at the end of August against the Excelsior Springs, Liberty, Park Hill, Platte County, Kearney, North Kansas City, and Smithville school districts. According to the website, the association’s mission is, 

To empower Clay and Platte County parents and grandparents to get involved in their children’s education with the priority of preserving fundamental rights and Constitutional freedoms of every child.