Senate Passes Bill To Change Library Book Approval Process

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The Texas Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would significantly change the processes and procedures Texas’ school libraries have to follow.

Senate Bill 13, from Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, would let parents receive notice each time their children obtain school library materials, prohibit the acquisition or retention of harmful and indecent materials, and create local councils to help districts ensure community values are reflected in each school library catalog in the district. Members of the upper chamber approved the bill with a 18-12 vote. It now heads to the House.

(Full story HERE. (Warning: bias)
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Abbott Asks Texas School Board Assn. To Root Out Inappropriate Books, They Decline

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Gov. Greg Abbott today sent a letter to Texas Association of School Boards Executive Director Dan Troxell to ensure no child is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content in a Texas public school. 

"A growing number of parents of Texas students are becoming increasingly alarmed about some of the books and other content found in public school libraries that are extremely inappropriate in the public education system," reads the letter. "The most flagrant examples include clearly pornographic images and substance that have no place in the Texas public education system. 

"You have an obligation to Texas parents and students to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school," he wrote.

TASB officials were confused upon receiving Abbott’s letter because their organization has “no regulatory authority over school districts and does not set the standards for instructional materials, including library books,” spokeswoman Theresa Gage wrote to media via email.

Many media outlets portrayed Abbott's letter as "vague" in describing the problems he had with sexual content in books, but throughout the summer, parents across the state and local school boards have read explicit passages from books either assigned to students in elementary grades, or widely available in their libraries. 

Some of the passages included graphic sexual encounters between two underage children.

(Full story here.)
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House Committee To Launch Library Book Investigation

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The chairman of a Texas state House committee tasked with conducting investigations is launching a probe into books that school librarians keep on their shelves in the wake of a measure the legislature passed earlier this year to bar teaching of critical race theory in public schools.

In a letter to the Texas Education Agency and unnamed school superintendents, state Rep. Matt Krause (R) asked school leaders to identify the number of copies of hundreds of specific books they have sitting on library shelves, and how much money the districts paid to purchase those books.

(Full story here.)
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