Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB765 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	FIRST REGULAR SESSION
3	3	SENATE BILL NO. 765
4	4	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5	5	INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
6	6	3084S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	To repeal section 182.827, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to
9	9	materials in public schools that are obscene or harmful to minors.
10	10
11	11	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
12	12	Section A. Section 182.827, RSMo, is repealed and two new 1
13	13	sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 2
14	14	162.116 and 182.827, to read as follows:3
15	15	162.116. 1. As used in this section, the following 1
16	16	terms mean: 2
17	17	(1) "Charter school", th e same definition as in 3
18	18	section 160.400; 4
19	19	(2) "Department", the Missouri department of 5
20	20	elementary and secondary education; 6
21	21	(3) "Explicit material", obscene material or material 7
22	22	that is harmful to minors; 8
23	23	(4) "Governing board", the gover ning board of a 9
24	24	charter school established under sections 160.400 to 160.425; 10
25	25	(5) "Harmful to minors", the quality of a description 11
26	26	or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual 12
27	27	excitement, sexual conduct, excessive violence, or 13
28	28	sadomasochistic abuse that: 14
29	29	(a) The average person applying contemporary community 15
30	30	standards would find to predominantly appeal to the 16
31	31	prurient, shameful, or morbid interests of minors; 17 SB 765 2
32	32	(b) Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in 18
33	33	the contemporary adult community as a whole with respect to 19
34	34	what is suitable for minors; and 20
35	35	(c) When taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, 21
36	36	artistic, political, or scientific value for minors; 22
37	37	(6) "Material", any of the following: 23
38	38	(a) A book, magazine, newspaper, or other printed or 24
39	39	written material; 25
40	40	(b) A picture, drawing, photograph, film, video, 26
41	41	computer-generated image, or other pictorial representation; 27
42	42	(c) A statue, figure, device, theatrical production, 28
43	43	or electrical reproduction; or 29
44	44	(d) Other similar articles, equipment, machines, or 30
45	45	materials; 31
46	46	(7) "Obscene", spoken or written matter that, when 32
47	47	taken as a whole: 33
48	48	(a) The average person would find to predominantly 34
49	49	appeal to prurient interest; 35
50	50	(b) The average person applying contemporary community 36
51	51	standards would find to depict or describe sexual conduct in 37
52	52	a patently offensive way; and 38
53	53	(c) Lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or 39
54	54	scientific value; 40
55	55	(8) "Parent", a parent, guard ian, or other person 41
56	56	having control or custody of a child; 42
57	57	(9) "Patently offensive", going substantially beyond 43
58	58	customary limits of candor in describing or representing 44
59	59	such subject; 45
60	60	(10) "Public school", the same definition as in 46
61	61	section 160.011. The term shall be construed to include a 47
62	62	charter school; 48 SB 765 3
63	63	(11) "School board", the same definition as in section 49
64	64	160.011; 50
65	65	(12) "School district", the same definition as in 51
66	66	section 160.011. 52
67	67	2. No school district or public school shall allow 53
68	68	obscene material or material that is harmful to minors to be 54
69	69	available to a child: 55
70	70	(1) In a school library controlled by the school 56
71	71	district or public school; or 57
72	72	(2) From materials kept or used by a teacher in the 58
73	73	course of preparing for or providing instruction to children 59
74	74	enrolled in a public school. 60
75	75	3. (1) Each school board and governing board shall 61
76	76	adopt a policy that allows a parent of a child enrolled in a 62
77	77	public school to report to the public school administrati on 63
78	78	if the parent becomes aware that obscene material or 64
79	79	material that is harmful to minors is made available to 65
80	80	children as described in subsection 2 of this section. 66
81	81	(2) The policy required under subdivision (1) of this 67
82	82	subsection shall require the public school administration to 68
83	83	remove the material reported by a parent as obscene or 69
84	84	harmful to minors for at least thirty calendar days to allow 70
85	85	the school board or governing board, as applicable, to 71
86	86	review the material to determine whether the material is 72
87	87	obscene, harmful to minors, or appropriate for students. 73
88	88	(3) (a) The school board or governing board, as 74
89	89	applicable, shall determine if the material is obscene or 75
90	90	harmful to minors before the next regularly scheduled 76
91	91	meeting of the school board or governing board, as 77
92	92	applicable, after the thirty -day removal period of the 78
93	93	material as described in subdivision (2) of this subsection. 79 SB 765 4
94	94	(b) If the school board or governing board determines 80
95	95	that the material is obscene or harmful to minors, the board 81
96	96	shall permanently remove the material from the public school. 82
97	97	(c) If the school board or governing board determines 83
98	98	that the material is appropriate for students, the board 84
99	99	shall return the material to each school library or tea cher 85
100	100	from which the material was removed upon the board's 86
101	101	determination that the material is appropriate for students 87
102	102	or at the end of the thirty -day removal period described in 88
103	103	subdivision (2) of this subsection, whichever is earlier. 89
104	104	(4) The policy adopted under this section shall not be 90
105	105	construed to: 91
106	106	(a) Be the exclusive means to remove material from a 92
107	107	school; or 93
108	108	(b) Preclude a school district or governing board from 94
109	109	developing or implementing additional policies, practices, 95
110	110	or procedures for the removal of materials from the school. 96
111	111	(5) If a public school fails to comply with a policy 97
112	112	adopted under this section, the department may withhold an 98
113	113	amount of state funds, as determined by the department, from 99
114	114	the public school until the public school is in compliance 100
115	115	with the policy. 101
116	116	(6) Each public school shall annually report to the 102
117	117	department the material that is permanently removed under 103
118	118	paragraph (b) of subdivision (3) of this subsection. 104
119	119	182.827. 1. A public school that provides a public 1
120	120	access computer shall apply the provisions of section 2
121	121	162.116 that are applicable to materials made available to a 3
122	122	child in a school library to materials accessed by minors on 4
123	123	such public access computer a nd do one or both of the 5
124	124	following: 6 SB 765 5
125	125	(1) Equip the computer with software that will limit 7
126	126	minors' ability to gain access to material that is 8
127	127	pornographic for minors or purchase internet connectivity 9
128	128	from an internet service provider that provides filter 10
129	129	services to limit access to material that is pornographic 11
130	130	for minors; 12
131	131	(2) Develop and implement by January 1, 2003, a policy 13
132	132	that is consistent with community standards and establishes 14
133	133	measures to restrict minors from gaining computer acce ss to 15
134	134	material that is pornographic for minors. 16
135	135	2. The department of elementary and secondary 17
136	136	education shall establish rules and regulations for the 18
137	137	enforcement of subsection 1 of this section. Any rule or 19
138	138	portion of a rule, as that term is def ined in section 20
139	139	536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in 21
140	140	this section shall become effective only if it complies with 22
141	141	and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, 23
142	142	if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 24
143	143	536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with 25
144	144	the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to 26
145	145	delay the effective date or to disapprove and annul a rule 27
146	146	are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of 28
147	147	rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after 29
148	148	August 28, 2002, shall be invalid and void. 30
149	149	3. A public library that provides a public access 31
150	150	computer shall do one or both of the following: 32
151	151	(1) Equip the computer with software that will limit 33
152	152	minors' ability to gain access to material that is 34
153	153	pornographic for minors or purchase internet connectivity 35
154	154	from an internet service provider that provides filter 36
155	155	services to limit access to material that is pornographic 37
156	156	for minors; 38 SB 765 6
157	157	(2) Develop and implement by January 1, 2003, a policy 39
158	158	that is consistent with community standards and establishes 40
159	159	measures to restrict minors from gaining computer access to 41
160	160	material that is pornographic for minors. 42
161	161	4. The secretary of state shall establish ru les and 43
162	162	regulations for the enforcement of subsection 3 of this 44
163	163	section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is 45
164	164	defined in section 536.010, that is created under the 46
165	165	authority delegated in this section shall become effective 47
166	166	only if it complies with and is subject to all of the 48
167	167	provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 49
168	168	536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and 50
169	169	if any of the powers vested with the general assembly 51
170	170	pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective 52
171	171	date or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held 53
172	172	unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and 54
173	173	any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2002, shall be 55
174	174	invalid and void. 56
175	175	5. Any public school board member, officer or 57
176	176	employee, including library personnel, who willfully 58
177	177	neglects or refuses to perform a duty imposed by this 59
178	178	section shall be subject to the penalties imposed pursuant 60
179	179	to section 162.091. 61
180	180	6. A public school or public school board member , 62
181	181	officer or employee, including library personnel, public 63
182	182	library or public library board member, officer, employee or 64
183	183	trustee that complies with subsection 1 or 3 of this section 65
184	184	or an internet service provider providing internet 66
185	185	connectivity to such public school or library in order to 67
186	186	comply with this section shall not be criminally liable or 68
187	187	liable for any damages that might arise from a minor gaining 69
188	188	access to material that is pornographic for minors through 70 SB 765 7
189	189	the use of a public access compute r that is owned or 71
190	190	controlled by the public school or public library. 72
191	191	