Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Bellefonte, is one of five Republican House members raising concern over the use of explicit books in Pennsylvania’s school libraries.

Thompson and U.S. Reps. Fred Keller, Mike Kelly, Lloyd Smucker and Guy Reschenthaler recently sent Gov. Tom Wolf a letter asking the governor and Eric Hagarty, acting state education secretary, to investigate parents’ concerns about explicit books — though the letter specifically mentions only one book, “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe.

“Pennsylvania schools need to be places where students feel safe and comfortable learning the important academic lessons that will set them up for a successful career and equip them with the tools they need to succeed in life,” the House members wrote. “We need to do everything we can to be a partner to local communities as they work to educate every student and give them the chance to pursue their passion while in school.”

The federal lawmakers are asking state officials to explain how school library materials are decided upon; how school boards, schools and librarians engage with parents to determine if content is appropriate for children based on age and academics; and if there has been an investigation previously into the issue.

“As a report issued by the Pennsylvania Office of Commonwealth Libraries indicated, ‘research studies provide strong evidence that academic achievement is significantly higher where a strong library program exists,'” the House members wrote. “We wholeheartedly agree with this and many of the other resources included in the report, which focus on helping students succeed in the classroom and enhancing their academic experience. We fail to understand how the aforementioned graphic material contained in books like ‘Gender Queer’ falls into any of the categories contained in this report.”

A spokesperson for Wolf responded to the letter saying the administration will focus on the new school year rather than the House members’ request.

“Students shouldn’t be leveraged as an extremist talking point disguised as a so-called effort to ‘protect’ children. Further, this attempt to have the administration potentially censor library materials is extremely concerning. The Wolf administration will continue to focus on the real priorities of the new school year rather than censorship, discrimination and bullying,” Elizabeth Rementer, the governor’s press secretary, said according to CHNI news.

The request comes on the heels of state Senate approval of legislation that would require parental notification of teachers’ use of instructional materials and books containing sexually explicit content (SB 1277). That bill would require schools to identify sexually explicit content in school curriculum, materials and books and notify parents that their child’s coursework includes such content or that a book their child wishes to view in the school library contains explicit content. Parents would then have the opportunity to review the materials and the power to opt their children out of that coursework or prevent their child from viewing that particular book from the library. If the parent decides to opt their child out of coursework, the child will be provided with a non-explicit alternative.

The Senate also approved SB 1278 to prohibit classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students, require adherence to existing state standards of age-appropriate content for any discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation that occur in sixth through 12th grades, prohibit a school from withholding information from parents in accordance with existing state and federal laws, increase transparency by requiring public schools to develop a policy for notifying parents when there is a change to a student’s services or monitoring and protect students in the LGBTQ community by providing exemptions if it can be reasonably demonstrated that parental notification would result in abuse or abandonment of a minor.

Both bills have yet to be considered in the state House of Representatives. Wolf has said he will veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.