I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2147 To prohibit States and local educational agencies that ban books from receiv- ing funds under the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 23, 2021 Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To prohibit States and local educational agencies that ban books from receiving funds under the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guarding Readers 4 Independence and Choice Act’’, or the ‘‘GRINCH Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. LOSS OF ELIGIBILITY FOR BANNING BOOKS. 6 Subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the Elementary 7 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7111 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2147.IH H2147 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2147 IH et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 1 new section: 2 ‘‘SEC. 4113. LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY. 3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 4 vision of this subpart, except as provided in subsection (b), 5 a State or local educational agency that has in place any 6 law or policy that prohibits the availability of books or 7 other written materials to students, teachers, or schools 8 within such State or local educational agency based on a 9 determination that such books or materials contain offen- 10 sive or outdated language or images shall not be eligible 11 to receive funds under this subpart. 12 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 13 tion shall be construed to prohibit a State or local edu- 14 cational agency from prohibiting the availability of books 15 or other written materials that contain obscene or porno- 16 graphic text or images or content that is harmful to mi- 17 nors.’’. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2147.IH H2147 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS