Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
More on NBISDNew Braunfels ISD libraries to reopen Monday, 81 books flagged for further review
Temporary closure of New Braunfels ISD school libraries sparked controversy
https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2025/...
They flagged 81 books for further review. The books will be listed as either SB 13 compliant or non-compliant once that review is complete.
The books are on the district’s website for parents and faculty to be able to review.
Oak Run Middle School student Amelia Becker spoke out against the closure of her school’s library at the meeting.
“There may be some kids in our school who’s only access to books is through our library,” Becker said. “Whatever the regulation should be in order to abide by Senate Bill 13, this is not right. Locking away our books, breaking our trust, is not right.”
A majority of Thursday evening’s speakers spoke against the closure of their district’s middle and high school libraries.
“Although this is a temporary closure, it is still a form of censorship because it restricts my access to the books within the library,” Piper Morgan said.
However, there were several speakers who voiced their admiration of the board’s decision to close libraries while they review book content.
“Not everybody is equipped to handle some of the books that I’ve investigated in this school district,” one woman said. “Some of them made me sick to my stomach when I started reading them, and I don’t think that should be in middle school.”
Some people who spoke to the board read excerpts from books they said have been accessible in NBISD.
“One book I saw is Tricks by Ellen Hopkins,” a man named Mason told the board before reading an explicit excerpt from the book.
The Arkansas Journal of Social Change and Public ServiceThe Death of the Marketplace of Ideas in American School Libraries
October 23, 2025
By: Christina Doncell
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect views of the Journal, the William H. Bowen School of Law, or UA Little Rock.
https://ualr.edu/socialchange/2025/10...
Pass the smelling salts and add this Minnesota school to the "don't say gay" list.thanks to Kelly Jensen of BookRiot for the safe link. This teacher sounds amazing and her students are great kids.
Maple Grove elementary teacher discusses same-sex romance with third graders during ‘banned books’ lesson
The teacher told parents she read a story about two princes who fall in love and defined the word "gay" during a discussion on "Banned Books Week."
https://archive.ph/9DuRd#selection-95...
Back to Texas where school board elections are underway Money pouring in for Cy-Fair ISD school board elections, report shows
https://abc13.com/post/cy-fair-isd-el...
There are three seats up for grabs in this election cycle -- trustee positions 5, 6, and 7. Winners will serve four-year terms.
Cy-Fair ISD board meetings have been packed in recent years, with trustees and community members sparring over topics like gender identity, book bans, and religious curriculum.
"You get this outside money, all of a sudden, it changes the dynamics of this very small school board race," said Duncan Klussmann, the former superintendent of Spring Branch ISD and current assistant professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Houston.
According to campaign finance reports on Cy-Fair ISD's website, the board's nine candidates have already raised $83,614 in donations, with three candidates raising more than $10,000 each and two raising more than $20,000.
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"I think some individuals nationally realize that school board races are usually pretty small," Klussmann said. "There's not a large voter turnout, and it would be races that would be somewhat easier to control."
Records show donations are coming from political action committees that describe themselves as promoting safety and educational causes. They also show thay elected officials, both Republican and Democratic, have also given money, even donating outside their districts in some cases.
"Any time you accept a large sum of money, there are strings attached," Klussmann added. "Anyone who says they don't believe strings are attached, they just aren't telling the truth."
Huntington Beach, California where a small minority of petty, small-minded people are trying to control everyone else.https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-p...
Huntington Beach Council votes to appeal library ruling
The all-conservative Huntington Beach City Council voted in closed session Tuesday to appeal an Orange County Superior Court judge’s order that the city to return books previously moved to a youth-restricted area to their original locations inside the city’s Central Library.
Judge Lindsey Martinez ruled last month in favor of plaintiffs Alianza Translatinx and three Huntington Beach residents, who sued the city in February, arguing the policy violated the 2024 California Freedom to Read Act.
Martinez also signed a writ of mandate, created by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and plaintiff Erin Spivey, a Huntington Beach resident and former librarian there, listing actions the city must take. It included removing all signage regarding restricted books, re-establishing a teen section and eliminating parental consent requirements for minors to access library materials.
But now, the youth-restricted section on the fourth floor will remain in place as the city files its appeal.
Jonathan Markowitz, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, said Wednesday the organization was disappointed the city was continuing its “censorship scheme,” even after repeatedly arguing in Superior Court that the case was moot and stating officials had no ability or plans to enforce its resolution after the public voted to eliminate its community review board.
“Regardless, we are confident in our legal position on appeal,” Markowitz wrote in an email.
Measure A, passed by Huntington Beach voters in June, eliminated the proposed parent/guardian children’s book review board and leaves selection policies in the hands of the director of community and library services.
A break down of which books and movies have been challenged at Iowa schools and whyhttps://archive.ph/SWrSQ#selection-31...
Manybooks wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-citi...Supporting ICE is like supporting the Gestapo, the STASI, the SS, the KGB (and so on..."
Since we're in the USA, I liken it to the Fugitive Slave Act. In blue cities, there are watch groups to protect their neighbors, sanctuary locations and lawsuits and then Trump threatens to send in the National Guard. I haven't seen ICE but I heard they removed a good chunk of residents of nearby small city.
PennsylvaniaA group checked 193 PA school districts for censorship, LGBTQ+ policies. What did it find?
A recent analysis of dozens of Pennsylvania school boards found one in five of them have adopted culture war policies that censor material, ban books or target LGBTQ+ students.
The group School Board Spotlight — which has ties to the progressive Pipeline Fund — determined that 39 of the 193 districts examined had adopted one of these policies since 2023. The Education Law Center, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit, on Oct. 23 highlighted these findings as demonstrating that some school boards are putting “partisan agendas” ahead of the students they serve.
https://www.goerie.com/story/news/edu...
Wyoming ACLU :"Wyoming Has an Obligation to Fight Back Against Attempts to Restrict Access to Information"
https://www.aclu-wy.org/news/wyoming-...
Publishers Weekly explores whether or not the Supreme Court will take up the public library book banning case out of the Fifth Circuit in the next session https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...
Two states with anti-book ban legislation coming up for discussion this session.New Mexico and hopefully Michigan.
3 New Mexico legislators prepare bills to protect books from bans
https://www.krqe.com/news/3-new-mexic...
A handful of legislation aimed at protecting books from being banned is getting prepped for the next legislative session. “My bill is specifically for public libraries, which includes tribal and rural libraries; Senator Pope’s is academic libraries, which is for higher education, and Senator Sedillo-Lopez’s bill will be for K-12 schools,” said Rep. Kathleen Cates (D-Bernalillo & Sandoval Counties).
The legislators believe book-banning campaigns often target LGBTQ+ stories and minorities, and by keeping these books on shelves, everyone can be represented. “Freedom to read is a freedom to belong, and it’s essential,” Rep. Cates said.
Rep. Cates said it’s important not to bar access, no matter the topic, but not everyone shares that same sentiment. “The content of these books is absolutely unacceptable,” said Republican Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Amy Barela.
Barela argued that she has no issue with not banning books in public libraries. She draws the line when it comes to New Mexico’s children and s--ual content being at their fingertips. “They are not prepared for information like that, and this further by s--ualizing them makes them accepting that this is okay at that age, even to mention r--e in these books, it’s just not acceptable,” said Barela.
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Rep. Cates said the legislation would not only protect the freedom to read but also shield library staff from harassment.
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Michigan Library Advocates are calling on state leaders to defend the right to read, as more than 4,300 Michiganders have signed a petition in support of this cause.
https://www.wlns.com/news/library-adv...
According to the Michigan Library Association, supporters are urging Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature to protect the freedom to read, support library workers, and safeguard critical statewide library programs such as MeL and MeLCat.
“Public libraries across Michigan are under pressure, from book bans to censorship efforts that threaten the very purpose of what libraries stand for,” said Dillon Geshel, interim executive director of the Michigan Library Association, in a news release sent to 6 News.
“We invited residents to speak up for their right to read, and more than 4,300 Michiganders responded. This is about more than books. It’s about preserving access, inclusion, and the freedom to explore ideas.”
Jefferson County, OhioLibrary levy measure on the ballot
Library supporters voice concerns over content ahead of levy vote
https://www.wtrf.com/news/library-sup...
Some residents say they support the library’s mission but have concerns about what’s being made available to children
The levy would raise about $1.5 million roughly a third of the library’s budget.
Some Jefferson County residents who plan to vote NO say they value what the library provides but worry about certain books being available to children without parental consent.
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Tom Valentine, Jefferson County Resident, says the issue isn’t with the library itself but with responsiveness to community concerns.
Are you against your tax money going toward the library if they were to make these adjustments? Libraries are one of the great American institutions I mean, I’m a history major and you think about the concept of libraries as being a place for anybody with any income level can go and access all the world’s knowledge.”
Tom Valentine, Jefferson County Resident
He believes voting down the levy would not close the library — but would send a message for change.
This Levy if it’s defeated, this text would only cut 33% of their funding and so that would be a way of sending a strong message that reforms need to be made that the taxpayers of Jefferson County are upset about what’s going on in the library without shutting the library, the library will not close if this levy is defeated.”
Tom Valentine, Jefferson County Resident
I’ll be voting sadly no on the levy because I do value a lot of what the library does. Most of the library does, but I can’t in good conscience give I’ll be voting sadly no on the levy because I do value a lot of what the library does. Most of the library does, but I can’t in good conscience give my tax money for this agenda”
Laura Sirilla, Jefferson County Resident
Opinion piece from a Texas high school student opposed to a new proposed "parental rights" lawhttps://archive.ph/dEvBe
An opinion piece from South DakotaBooks continue to not be a problem
Here in the doldrums of North Dakota’s political cycle, the supposed crisis over library books has gone quiet. Because there never was one.
https://archive.ph/fxOSN#selection-15...
IndianaI'm glad someone stepped up for the kids who worked so hard.
https://fox59.com/news/marion-communi...
Marion Community Schools board offers up theater for Mississinewa High School students to use to run canceled play
Massachusetts! South Hadley Library Draws Backlash Over ‘Pride Club for Kids’ Events
The South Hadley Public Library is facing criticism for promoting an LGBT “Pride Club for Kids” open to all ages, drawing backlash from those who say taxpayer funds shouldn’t support such programs.
https://www.newbostonpost.com/south-h...
Paywalled
Good news from Georgia's Oconee County library. They will NOT relocate My Rainbow out of the children’s area. The bigot who complained didn't even read the book. Unfortunately the board decision was split.https://www.oconeeenterprise.com/2025...
The Oconee County Library Board on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in split votes, decided to leave a challenged book, “My Rainbow” by Trinity and DeShanna Neal, in the children’s picture book section of the Oconee County Library in Wire Park.
The Board first voted down, 3 to 5, a motion to accept the recommendation of its own Book Action Committee to move the book, which tells the story of a mother and her transgender daughter, to the young adult nonfiction section of the library.
The Board then voted 5 to 2, with one abstention, to approve a motion to leave the book in the children’s picture book section in the library.
Nicholas Bennett had challenged the book, saying his 5-year-old daughter “does not need to learn about transitioning genders at her age.” Bennett said he had not read the book and had discovered the book by asking a librarian for it.
Library Board Member Wanda Stitt-Gohdes, responding to the Book Action Committee recommendation, said the book “won’t be read in young adults. It is a picture book for children.”
“Moving that book to a section where it is inaccessible to the intended audience is censorship,” Board Member Laura Moore said.
Only five people other than board members and library staff attended the meeting at the Bogart Library, and no one spoke during the public comment section of the meeting.
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Bennett filed out his Request for Reconsideration on Aug. 9, saying that he had “asked a team member” to find “My Rainbow” at the Oconee County Library.
Bennett stated he had not read the book, but he said, “This book is not appropriate to be in the kids section…I should not have to read a book that my kid picks out beforehand.”
The staff recorded acceptance of the request on Aug. 10.
Valerie Bell, director of the Athens Regional Library System at the time, told the Board at its April 2024 meeting that the system had received 13 Requests for Reconsideration since July of 2023, with 12 of those in Oconee County and one in Franklin County.
The Board has moved some of those books and left others as originally classified. Bennett’s request was the first the Board has received and addressed since April of last year.
The review process when a Request for Reconsideration is filed involves two committees, one made up of professional librarians in the Athens Regional Library System and the other made up of members of the Oconee County Library Board.
The Athens Regional Library System’s Library Staff Review Committee had recommended that “My Rainbow” remain in the children’s picture book section.
“The filer’s complaints are centered on their own opinions about transgender people and a desire to avoid discussing the topic with their children,” the State Review Committee wrote in its report.
“We respect every patron’s right to hold their own opinions,” the report continues, “but the library’s collections must be representative of everyone in the community.”
The Oconee County Library Board’s Book Action Committee recommended that “My Rainbow” be moved from the children’s picture book section to the young adult nonfiction section of the library.
“There was a concern that a seed could be planted in a young child’s mind that could introduce gender confusion,” the report of the Book Action Committee stated.
In presenting that report to the full Board, Library Board Chair Rubielen Norris said, “We did have a very detailed, lengthy discussion” when the Book Action Committee met on Sept. 9.
“We are looking at the best way for the book to be used and the proper place for it to be in the library,” she said.
When Rubin had finished her comments, Stitt-Gohdes said, “I think it’s an unfortunate decision to make on this book.”
“It won’t be read in young adults,” she continued. “It is a picture book for children.”
“The decision was made to do all this based on someone not even having read the book,” she said. “That seems really counterintuitive.”
“A child is not going to go into the young adult section to find a picture book,” Moore said. “It is a children’s book. “It is meant for ages 4 through 8.”
Moore said the Board’s role “is not to pass judgment on what we are uncomfortable with. If I’m uncomfortable with a book about guns, then I don’t check it out for my children.”
“To be in the children’s section, she continued, “a child under 11 has to have a parent with them. So by moving that book to a section where it is [i]naccessible to the intended audience is censorship.”
“The library is not in a position to act as a parent,” Board Member Angela Moss-Hill said. “So a parent should be in the library with their child.”
“I cannot imagine our moving a book in the library to a place where a child would never find it,” she added.
Kelly Hansford, who also served on the Book Action Committee, said “I had to look up the definition a word, and I’m 60 years old.”
“I had to look up cisgender,” she said. “I know what transgender is but I had to look up cis. I also had to look at the page really closely when it used they/them pronouns without explaining.”
“So there were times when I think the assumption is made that 4 year olds understand these things,” she said. [They do and they just accept it.]
“I also had a concern that he—the parent who was concerned about the book—said that he should not have to read the book to decide if it was appropriate for his child,” Board member Daphne Norton said.
“And I feel like if the child cannot check out a book without a parent, then I think that it is the parent’s role and that that’s not something we should be policing,” she added.
Norris, Watson, Hansford, Deann Craft, and Amanda Marable served on the Book Action Committee. Marable did not attend the meeting on Tuesday.
When discussion ended, Board Member Fred Lutz made a motion to accept the recommendation of the Book Action Committee, and Hansford seconded the motion.
Craft, Hansford, and Lutz voted in favor, and Rachel Watson, Moss-Hill, Stitt-Gohdes, Moore, and Norton voted against.
Watson then made a motion not to move My Rainbow from the children’s picture book section of the Oconee County Library. Stitt-Gohdes seconded the motion.
Watson, Moss-Hill, Stitt-Gohdes, Moore, and Norton voted in favor, with Craft and Hansford voting against. Lutz abstained.
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Back to Texas where they can't be bothered to actually read the books they claim they object to. Why do that when AI can do it for them? And we all know how well that's turned out in the recent past! https://archive.ph/9YGz6
Texas schools are using AI to screen library books under new state law
Pearland school board members knew they couldn't personally vet hundreds of books for “indecent” or “profane” content prohibited under a new state law.
So when they met this fall to consider a 1,400-title purchase list, they had to either trust their librarians’ recommendations or find another way to weed out potentially problematic material.
“I have some trepidation about voting for something I didn't review,” the board’s vice president, Kris Schoeffler, told fellow trustees at the September meeting. “But I also don't want to slow the process – our librarian's process – or second-guess their abilities.”
Nestled in a red-leaning suburb south of Houston, Pearland is one of several school districts turning to artificial intelligence to keep up with the law, Senate Bill 13, which requires boards to sign off on all library purchases. The legislation comes after a 2023 law first required schools to purge “s--ually explicit” books.
Katy ISD, Leander ISD, and New Braunfels ISD all confirmed to Hearst Newspapers that they also use AI tools to help identify potentially noncompliant titles. Some have hired a Dallas-based startup called Bookmarked to do the AI reviews for them.
In Pearland, ChatGPT flagged 57 books, among them a graphic adaptation of Lord of the Flies, several deep-dives on notorious serial killers, and a handful of books with “queer” in the titles. The school board is still deciding whether to pull any of the books.
Proponents see the technology as a gift, freeing up staff time while helping weed out content they see as inappropriate for schools.
“There’s a lot of needle in the haystack with these books,” said Sean Maika, superintendent of San Antonio’s North East ISD, which will soon use Bookmarked to identify titles that have been challenged elsewhere. “If it can lessen the burden of librarians and teachers – because they need time to focus on academics of our students, not trying to figure out what a book is or isn’t – I’m all for it.”
But critics of the new law say that AI screenings don’t factor in context and dehumanize stories about controversial topics, clearing the way for increased restrictions.
AI “doesn’t fully understand the community,” said Laney Hawes, an activist with the Texas Freedom to Read Project. “Books and stories are all about the human experience. Isn't that the point of books?”
Though AI may seem omniscient, most programs do not “read” books. Barred from accessing copyrighted texts, engines like ChatGPT rely on online summaries, reviews and excerpts.
That means their information won’t always be reliable.
In Pearland, for instance, the chatbot flagged a series of books about soccer because it had “locker room talk of a s--ual nature” and “male nudity,” trustee Daniel Stuckey said. But when he checked the book, he found neither.
“That was something the AI generated,” Stuckey told the board in September.
Some school librarians see AI as a broader threat to their jobs as districts struggle under inflation and funding deficits.
“That's my real fear, is that the AI sources will take the place of the librarians rather than the school board,” said Rachael Welsh, a high school librarian who chairs the Texas Association of School Librarians' legislative advocacy committee. “We know that AI is not reliable. It can be biased. It can hallucinate.”
Welsh acknowledged that librarians cannot read every title, but said they have training, tools and processes that many board members do not. In Texas, books must have at least two reviews from accredited journals such as Booklist, School Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews. Many librarians also refer to statewide lists of recommended titles.
On her campus, Welsh says she knows “every kid I'm buying a book for” and “every teacher's curricular needs.” Most districts have dozens of campuses and tens of thousands of students, encompassing a range of age levels and interests.
“Our school board members have full-time jobs, so they don't have time to go through all the books,” she said.
Kalyn Gensic, a librarian at Abilene ISD, said the idea of using AI to second-guess librarians’ choices is “pretty disturbing.”
“There are librarians all over the state who take building their lists very seriously,” she said. “The idea that you would then run it through AI just is frustrating.… We have a master's degree in this and it was generally assumed that we could be trusted” before.
But some say librarians’ process leaves room for error, too.
Pearland’s school board president pointed to the books about serial killers, saying they shouldn’t be available to children.
“Our librarians are professionals, and we do want to trust and appreciate them,” Pearland ISD Board President Crystal Carbone said on Sept. 9. “But I'm a professional, and I make mistakes. Having that accountability strengthens the system.”
Nanette Weimer, a Pearland ISD board member, said that “the state put us in this process… If that means we need to look at 57 books, then we look at 57 books.”
Leander ISD, north of Austin, used AI to assess more than 300 books from school curricula against a rubric that considered “DEI content.” After conducting a final review, district administrators paused classroom use of 40 titles, including "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Les Misérables” and "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.”
They said the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution” amid legal uncertainty under another new law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in schools.
“The decision to pause certain titles was not based on concerns about their educational merit,” Leander ISD said in a statement. “It was a direct response to the requirements and legal uncertainty introduced by Senate Bill 12.”
In Katy ISD, a suburban Houston district where book removals have drawn statewide attention, district officials said “library professionals may use AI tools” to sweep library materials for compliance with SB 13 before district staff review them.
“However, AI is not a substitute for reviewing a book in its entirety and does not replace the professional judgment of a certified librarian,” a spokesperson for Katy ISD wrote in an email to Hearst Newspapers.
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Districts aren’t required to disclose whether they’re using the technology. And as it improves, reliance will likely become more widespread.
“It's a whole new world. They're trying to figure it out, we're trying to figure it out,” said Welsh, the Texas Associations of School Librarians Legislative Advocacy Committee chair.
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SB 13 has put concerns over library books front and center in districts that largely escaped controversy over library content before. Pearland is one of them: no parent has ever formally challenged a book in the district, board members noted.
Now, they’re taking another month to decide whether to nix several of the 57 books that ChatGPT flagged. Some were already in the school’s library, so trustees voted near-unanimously to approve new copies of those on Oct. 14. During the September meeting, Schoeffler, the vice president, expressed frustration that the Legislature had put the responsibility of evaluating literature on board members. At the same time, he said, the board should help ensure that only the “least objectionable content” is present in the libraries.
Toni Carter, another board member, felt the bigger picture was getting lost in the debate. Responding to concerns about the serial-killer biographies, she said that books that fit children’s interests – including the “macabre” – are more likely to draw their attention.
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Yikes! and Oh HECK NO! And why did they axe BookPage? They just review new books and interview authors. Yeesh. Citrus County library board rejects Charlie Kirk memorial after heated debate
https://www.paxtonmedia.com/news/citr...
Tempers flared Tuesday night as the Citrus County Special District Library Advisory Board voted 5–2 against installing a display in the county’s five libraries to commemorate Charlie Kirk.
The decision came after about two hours of debate, audience outbursts, and one resident leaving the room in anger over the board’s chairman.
Dozens packed the meeting room, with the crowd split sharply down ideological lines.
Opponents called Kirk a white supremacist, homophobe and bigot, reading from his past speeches and arguing that honoring him would be inappropriate in a public library.
Supporters fired back that the attacks were unfair, insisting that Kirk was a “passionate advocate for free speech, unity and Christian values.”
The confrontation grew heated as some residents shouted over one another and were admonished more than once to be considerate of others.
Board member Rhys Campbell, who pushed to get the item on the agenda, said he admired Kirk’s passion for standing up for conservative values and supported using funds from the BookPage subscription to help pay for a memorial display.
At a Sept. 24 budget hearing, Citrus County commissioners voted to eliminate the $3,300 annual subscription for the monthly book review magazine BookPage, calling it a poor use of taxpayer dollars. Critics of the publication said it promoted “woke culture” by recommending titles with LGBTQ+ and progressive themes. [They also advertise Christian books and all kinds of books.]
Library Services Director Adam Chang said the BookPage funds have already been reallocated “for additional e-books and to help cover the increased cost of inhouse printing.”
Board member Edith Ramlow said that because that decision has already been made, the advisory board no longer has authority over the leftover money, making any proposal to use it for a memorial or another purpose moot.
Even so, Ramlow said, the discussion had value because “it’s important to hear and listen to everyone.”
Rita Fox of Lecanto said the best way to use any library funds is to use them for the benefit of everyone who uses the library and not to memorialize anyone, including Kirk.
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Fox later interrupted Chairman Justin Strickland during his comments and left the meeting.
Strickland himself faced criticism for wearing a Charlie Kirk Freedom T-shirt to the meeting. He defended his choice, saying he was well-informed about Kirk’s life and reputation.
But ultimately, Strickland recused himself from voting, saying that while he honors Kirk, creating a library display at this time would be unwise given the political implications.
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Others defended the idea for a memorial.
Eric Ball of Crystal River said, (view spoiler)
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Others took a different view.
Mike Blair of Hernando called Kirk a provocateur “who made a career out of saying things that most people get fired from their jobs for saying at the workplace.”
... John Labriola of Inverness thanked Strickland for wearing the freedom shirt and criticized opponents of the display.
“They don’t want us to have this display but they wanted to push the LGBTQ pride display,” he told the board. “Think about that. They’re hypocrites.”
A heated conflict arose in 2021 and continued into 2022 around the appearance of LGBTQ-themed ‘Pride Month’ displays in local libraries.
Some community members decried the displays as “indoctrination” and demanded they be removed, while others defended them as part of the library’s mission of inclusion and intellectual freedom.
The displays have not been reinstated in the libraries.
Labriola said the same people opposing the Kirk memorial are the ones who “yelled and screamed” because the LGBTQ pride display was taken down.
After the public comments ended, the board voted 5–2 against creating a memorial. The majority said Kirk’s legacy remains unsettled and that his assassination has become too politically charged for a taxpayer-funded memorial display at a public library.
One member reminded the crowd that Kirk’s books are already available for checkout to any interested patrons.”
Campbell, whose proposal to erect a memorial triggered the discussion, said he “felt to lay it on my heart to bring this discussion up” and start a conversation.
He said he knew the idea would be divisive and elicit strong comments.
“I wanted to make sure that we could get input,” he said. “And that was great input.”
Drag Queen Story Hour originator appointed as San Francisco’s next Drag Laureatehttps://www.sfchronicle.com/entertain...
San Francisco performer and educator Per Sia has already entered the history books once when she was the first reader to do a Drag Queen Story Hour a decade ago. Now she’s making history again as the first transgender woman to be appointed the San Francisco Drag Laureate.
Notably, the appointment comes amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ policies spearheaded by both the Trump administration and Republican politicians at all levels of government.
“I’m visibly trans, I’m brown, I’m Mexican, I’m a product of immigrant parents. I’m also an educator who works with kids, and I’m a drag performer,” Per Sia told the Chronicle in an interview a week before the news was announced Wednesday, Oct. 29. “Everything that is me is on the line.”
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The position’s duties include being part of San Francisco’s Pride celebrations in June, fostering new relationships between the drag and LGBTQ communities and city agencies, creating new drag events for the city, being a spokesperson for San Francisco’s LGBTQ community and helping preserve and promote the art of San Francisco drag.
“As San Francisco’s Drag Laureate, Per Sia will lead the way for new representation that uplifts and highlights the storied drag history of our city and the significant contributions of the trans and entire LGBTQ+ community to San Francisco,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie. “Our city is known all over the world as a place where people are allowed to be who they want to be, love who they want to love, and live the lives they choose without fear of persecution.
“I look forward to working with Per Sia to support and celebrate our LGBTQ+ community.”
Drollinger noted the choice is an important one in light of the current political situation in the United States.
“I think it is a bold message, selecting a trans woman of color who is also a drag performer and works with children,” said Drollinger. “All those things are scary to the right wing, but it shows that San Francisco is not catering to those people.”
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The Drag Laureate position was created in 2023 by the mayor’s office under London Breed in partnership with the city’s Human Rights Commission and the San Francisco Public Library.
The role was initially slated for a period of 18 months (Drollinger’s extended to two and a half years) and came with a $55,000 stipend. The laureate’s term has now been changed to three years, with a $35,000 yearly stipend.
The position is funded by San Francisco Public Library, which also funds and oversees the city’s Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate.
A new far-right censorship group(safe link, thank you Kelly Jensen)
Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
backed by Take Back the Classroom
https://archive.ph/jDbz7
Mod
Pete Hoekstra should be apologising for his crude nastiness and for his expletive ridden tirade at Ontario trade representative David Paterson (but let's face it, Hoekstra obviously does not have neither the class nor the necessary humility and grace to do this, seeing how his words always are bullying and holier than thou). But really, considering Pete Hoekstra's recent and also not so recent behaviour, his decidedly anti Canada sentiment and his totally disgusting potty mouth, he and his should be post haste booted out of Canada with extreme and total prejudice (and I guess I would also love to see Hoekstra stripped of his diplomatic immunity, but that is likely a total pipe dream, and that his nastiness is more than likely being ordered by his boss and buddy Donald Trump).
And Mr. Hoekstra, get it into your thick noggin that Canadians have every right to choose not to visit the USA, not to buy American goods etc. (and you had better tone down your rhetoric).
Uh-Oh Texans have voted to enshrine "parental rights" into their state Constitution. This is very bad news because as we have seen, "parental rights" is only for the White, Christian, heterosexual, cisgender parents to dictate what EVERY child can and can not read/do/be. Virginians came to their senses and elected a Democrat as governor and hopefully she'll restore "critical race theory" "DEI" whatever they want to call it to the schools and kids can learn the real story of Pocahontas and her people, the stories of Angelo/a, the first African captive woman and her people and you know other real true history.
Leave it to Kelly Jensen and BookRiot's Literary Activism newsletter to share the BAD news after the mainstream media reported all the GOOD news.https://bookriot.com/rutherford-count...
Rutherford County Library System (TN) Temporarily Shuts Down to Ban Books
Rutherford County Library System announced on social media a surprise shutdown of two libraries. Why? "Reviewing inventory."
Kelly Jensen Nov 6, 2025
Rutherford County Library System (RCLS) in Tennessee have made several headlines during this wave of book censorship. They voted to ban all trans books for minors in the library earlier this year, and the board of the Lineburgh Public Library–one of their branches–voted to remove “transgenderism” books just weeks before the decision was made by the county’s board. Months after passing their anti-trans book policy, the RCLS decided to overturn it. That decision wasn’t out of a change of heart but rather, fear of litigation.
Rutherford County includes the city of Murfreesboro, which passed an anti-LGBTQ+ law in 2023 and later repealed, paying a steep fee following a lawsuit settlement. It is also home to Rutherford County Schools, which have been among the biggest book banners in the state. The ACLU and PEN America filed a lawsuit in the school district over their censorship of materials earlier this year.
Now, the RCLS board is shutting down several of its library branches to “meet new reporting requirements from the TN State Secretary’s Office.” The vaguely worded post offers little insight into what these reporting requirements are, and the post does not explain why two branches of the library system need to shut down for several days in order to meet them.
The answer is likely that this will be a mass book banning without public oversight.
Tennessee has been actively updating their statewide library policies since the passage of their 2022 Age-Appropriate Materials Act. In 2024, the law was amended to add even more categories of books deemed illegal with the state. These include books containing nudity, sexual excitement, sexual conduct, or excess violence; it also includes books appealing to “prurient interests,” including LGBTQ+ material.
Both of these laws apply to public school libraries, but Tennessee has also updated their public library standards and the language within it mirrors that of the school-based law. This happened some time in 2023 and is likely related to a suite of legislation related to codifying biological sex as the only accepted identity in the state
...
Starting in September of this year, all public libraries in the state began to receive letters from Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett. He emphasized that for libraries to receive their funding from the state, they needed to comply with all state and local laws.
The letter specifically cites Trump’s “Defending Women from Gender Ideology,” and states that all libraries needed to review their juvenile materials to ensure they are in compliance with Tennessee’s age-appropriateness law, all federal laws, and all federal executive orders (which are not legally binding and do not override the Constitution)....
.. [T]he Secretary of State sent [a second letter] in late October, demanding the removal of any books out of compliance of the law within 60 days.
[continue reading, it's worth it. https://bookriot.com/rutherford-count...]
In this week's Literary Activism Newsletter, Kelly Jensen introduces us to the High Schoolers Who Overturned a State Reading Bowl A Georgia statewide reading bowl banned eight books. These students led the charge to get the bans overturned and succeeded.
https://bookriot.com/teens-who-overtu...
Shannon Hale? REALLY? Her books are so good and SERIOUSLY A BOOKSTORE? OH HECK NO! They never even read these books because there's nothing about "gender expression." Princess Magnolia likes tea parties and pink AND fighting crime in black. The prince is the same idea but opposite. His pink outfit is a secret identity like her black one.I sure hope Shannon Hale boycotts that store and gets all her author and like-minded friends to boycott the store too. She's so NICE and so NORMAL!
Princess In Black And Prince In Pink Pulled From Stores After Protest
The Deseret bookstore chain has pulled The Princess In Black And The Prince In Pink by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale and LeUyen Phem after protest
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/deser...
The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink
Deseret Book is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores along the west of the USA. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, the holding company for business firms owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormon Church.
Recently, a campaign began against Deseret Book for selling The Princess In Black and The Prince In Pink, stating that "Deseret Book peddling a title that says "Prince in Pink?", shoving a book about a boy prancing around in pink with a tiara into the faces of our children? "He was no longer prince Valerian"? The book's target audience? Ages 4-7. Is this not a blatant attack on God's clear design for gender and family? Are we really surprised our youth are drowning in confusion when so-called "faithful" institutions like Deseret Book push this garbage? Doesn't the church itself own Deseret Book, if so, why is Deseret Book undermining everything we stand for?… These books don't just sit there; they corrupt young minds, normalizing perversion and paving the way for moral decay. Please contact Deseret Book and flood their inboxes and phone lines. Demand they pull this book AND author immediately! And fire whoever approved this. I testify that God's judgment is coming for those who corrupt His proper order on the family, yes even Deseret Book."
Well, it seems that Desert Book partially complied, pulling that one title from the line, as it is no longer available on their website, though the other titles seem to be.
QNPoohBear wrote: "The policy seeks to ban anything that makes mention of "pertaining, promoting, or subjecting a minor to transgender or gender confusion ideology,” as well as "subjecting, introducing, condoning, or encouraging" adults to "identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the sex they are assigned at birth."The policy also seeks to ban any inter-library requests for books containing the "promotion of transgender or gender confusion in minors," and required that any books challenged for containing sexually explicit or transgender topics, the book must be pulled from shelves within 24 hours, before any review of the content is done.
It has persisted on agendas for the Sumner County Library Board since it was originally proposed in early 2025. It was tabled the first time it was proposed, rejected the second time, rejected the third time on stronger margins."
And now a fourth time. Get lives and wake up and smell the books! People don't want other people dictating what they can and can not read and Riley Gaines is just a whiny, sore loser.
Sumner County fails to pass transgender book ban after fourth attempt
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news...
In her first appearance during a special-called meeting Oct. 30, former college swimmer Riley Gaines and the Sumner County Library Board could not move forward with a controversial ban on transgender books for all county-run libraries.
It's something the former board had tried ― and failed ― to pass three times before.
After a brief discussion to defer a vote for fear of litigation, the board moved forward with the vote that ended in a 4-4 tie. But, library board chair Erika Grammer said the policy change could come back for another vote during a future board meeting.
If passed, the board would add a new section to its collection and management policy titled transgender and gender confusing materials. In it, the board clarifies that no materials would be in Sumner County Libraries, "subjecting, introducing, condoning or encouraging a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with his or her biological sex at birth."
The ban was set to be implemented for children and adults.
The policy would ban any inter-library requests for books containing the "promotion of transgender or gender confusion in minors" and requires that any books challenged for containing sexually explicit or transgender topics must be pulled from shelves within 24 hours, before any content review is done.
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So if Donald Trump were really against the Hyundai ICE Raid (as he is now claiming), he would have ALL of the agents etc. involved in and with this raid both arrested and also publicly named and relentlessly shamed.
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Vance is actually much more a racist pig than Donald Trump seems to be, but I guess his putrid hillbillyness is spewing out (and I guess Vance also despises his wife simply because she has not decided to convert to Christianity).
And by the way, Vance, you and your family (and ALL Americans except Native Americans are pretty recent immigrants).
And considering that JD Vance is Roman Catholic and that the current Pope is decidedly anti Trump administration, in my opinion Pope Leo should denounce and then also excommunicate Vance (and condemn him to purgatory).
QNPoohBear wrote: "Uh-Oh Texans have voted to enshrine "parental rights" into their state Constitution. This is very bad news because as we have seen, "parental rights" is only for the White, Christian, heterosexual,..."Can we, the pro-books folks, exploit this provision? I volunteered, when I was still a classroom teacher, to be part of a class-action lawsuit against the state of Kentucky. (I, a Presbyterian, found two Catholics and a Jew to join me.) The idea was that the mistreatment of LGBTQ children violated my "sincerely held religious beliefs" that we should support every student, as God intended. They mused about the idea, but it never went anywhere; however, I still think that it's always the best policy to use their own legislation against them.
Manybooks wrote: "https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...Vance is actually much more a racist pig than Donald Trump seems to be, but I..."
Vance isn't necessarily a racist pig -- he's worse. He's a chameleon with no real beliefs other than "What can I do to get ahead?" In 2016, when he felt Trump would crash and burn, he was anti-Trump. When the wind shifted, so did he. I think he'll dump his wife if he thinks it would help him ascend to the presidency.
Ivonne wrote: "QCan we, the pro-books folks, exploit this provision?."I don't know but you can ask the Texas Freedom to Read folks what they think.
Oh yes Vance is far worse than Trump. He'll overturn the Constitution knowingly and turn the country into a Christian theocracy. I don't know much about him but he's dangerous and young. Trump is a loose canon and a narcissist who goes his own way when it benefits him and throws a tantrum when it doesn't. If Trump dies in office we have a big, big problem. People seem to misunderstand and think if Trump dies it would trigger a new election but that would just elevate Vance to presidency and make him eligible to run again for a full term which he would probably win with the backing of the dark money billionaires and Christian nationalists.
More news from BookRiot's Literary Activism NewsletterBack to Georgia
rigghhttt....
This story is paywalled for me
'I want the best library for my county': Effingham County says they are not banning books
https://www.savannahnow.com/story/new...
Found an unlocked version of events
This is so nuts.
Effingham County votes to withdraw from Live Oak Libraries after heated debate
It signals the end of an 80-year partnership with the library system and Effingham County.
https://www.wjcl.com/article/effingha...
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Tensions ran high Tuesday night as the Effingham County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to withdraw from the Live Oak Public Libraries system — despite a packed room full of residents pleading with them to stay.
It signals the end of an 80-year partnership with the library and Effingham County.
The vote followed nearly three hours of debate and emotional public comment inside the county’s administrative complex. Many residents said they rely on the library system for education, internet access, and community programs.
“Between the librarians themselves, the ease of borrowing books, the services, the passes — we rely on the library for everything,” said one homeschooling mother who spoke during public comment.
County leaders defended the decision, saying it comes down to money and control. A consultant’s report found Effingham’s administrative costs under Live Oak were nearly nine times higher than Bulloch County’s. Officials estimate cutting ties could save taxpayers around $400,000 a year.
But critics say what the county saves in dollars, it will lose in access.
Live Oak officials warn the split could wipe out 93% of Effingham’s book collection and remove nearly all computers, printers, and Wi-Fi hotspots from local branches.
“You can’t put a dollar sign on what libraries offer,” one resident told WJCL.
As the meeting ended, many attendees expressed frustration — and vowed to make their voices heard in the next election.
...
The county’s withdrawal from the Live Oak Public Libraries system will become official in June 2026. Until then, Effingham residents will still have access to all Live Oak branches and resources.
County leaders say they plan to begin building an independent library system in the coming months
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Vance is actually much more a racist pig than Donald Trump ..."
And disinherit and deport his children ...
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I don't know but you can ask the Texas Freedom to Read folks what they think.
Oh yes Vance is far worse than Trump. He'll o..."
Yup, Vance is much much worse (and just like with Hitler, if any of those assassination plots had succeeded, Himmler, Goebbels and Goering would likely have been both worse and also more dangerous). I do hoe the current Pope excommunicates Vance (but he probably would not dare to do this).
TexasI guess this is good news? and guess what I just requested from the library! I will show my nephews even though they're big now.
Seguin ISD board approves full library list following public debate
https://archive.ph/UBEbl#selection-19...
More than 20 community members addressed the Seguin school board Tuesday night to share their thoughts on books currently available to students and whether they should be allowed.
State legislation that went into effect last month, Senate Bill 13, mandates that school districts allow parents, guardians or community members oversight of reading materials available to children in campus libraries. Part of that is the school board approving a list of books donated or proposed by librarians for purchase, Seguin ISD Chief Academic Officer Monica Lyons explained to the Seguin ISD Board of Trustees during the regularly scheduled meeting.
Before board approval, the district has to post the lists online and allow for community members to ask questions or make comments on the books, Seguin ISD Superintendent Jack Lee said.
“Part of that law requirement now is that we have to have it posted on the website for 30 days. That allows for public comment from anybody in the community,” he said.
However, the district received no feedback prior to the meeting, Seguin ISD’s Lead Librarian and Seguin High School Librarian Jackie Silvius said.
“Along with that list, there is a form that you fill out if you have a question about one of the books, and you talk about why it does not fall in line with one of the TSLAC (Texas State Library and Archives Commission) collection development policies,” she said. “We didn’t have any concerns.”
Yet, 22 people at the meeting had something to say regarding the books available to children.
...
Among them was John S. Carter, who asked why children had access to books that even Texas prison inmates didn’t.
“Many of the books on your school reading lists depict how to do unhealthy and unlawful things such as using addictive drugs, incest, s-x with minors, bestiality, necrophilia, torture and murder,” he said. “Books in your schools, such as ‘Crank’ and many more, should be immediately removed from the Seguin ISD. They are harmful to the students and the teachers.”
Megan Elliott, mother to a Seguin ISD student and pastor at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, countered Carter’s argument that if those topics were the baseline, then the district must take all books containing those themes off the shelves, while encouraging the board to not ban any.
“As a Christian, I believe that the stories in the Bible are powerful,” she said. “However, if the presence of mature and difficult themes is what should get a book banned, then we have to ban the Bible as well. R--e, incest, polygamy, torture, violence — our Christian holy scriptures are filled with stories that, were they to show up anywhere else, would immediately get them added to a banned book list.”
Several other speakers echoed Carter’s sentiments, with one reading excerpts from a pair of books. Some worried the books could lead to further issues.
Michelle Saengerhausen said she agreed that parents have the ultimate right to decide what materials their children have access to; however, she didn’t think a school library was the right place for easy access to all children.
“What isn’t under control is the books that are accessible for them to walk in and get off the shelf,” she said. “Those books are open to anybody. I don’t want anybody to force those books on my child or my grandchildren or my family members.”
Others contended that banning books could silence the voices of those who are different and offer fewer points of view.
Retired Seguin Librarian Patricia Buckley said librarians gauge their students’ interests, seek books that appeal to them and get them reading.
“We purchased books that would make students dialog with the text, asking questions and practicing critical thinking skills…” she said. “Sometimes students saw themselves in the books’ heroes and heroines, sometimes they learned empathy, sometimes they were simply exposed to elements of society they had never experienced before.”
During the board’s discussion later in the meeting, Trustee Lisa Burns raised a concern about a book on the list and requested its removal.
“There is one book on the list that I am very concerned about, ‘Butt and Faces',” she said. “It’s a picture book that just shows animals’ rear ends and a face, and kids are supposed to guess which one it is. I think it is probably a hilarious book for a crazy uncle to give you, but I don’t think it is appropriate material to be having in our library.”
The book is in elementary libraries and is a favorite among students, Silvius said.
“If you look at the book and you look through it, it’s just a fun book that the kids are taking off the shelf, and it may be that one book that they get that hooks them and gets them into reading,” she said. “It’s definitely not teaching them the word ‘butt’ because they know the word. It’s kind of maybe that gateway book that, ‘OK, this is good, what’s my next book that I can get?’ I understand, but it’s just one of those good, humorous, elementary, funny books for kids.”
Burns made a motion to approve the library’s lists, taking “Butt or Face?” out.
The motion died without a second.
Trustee Josh Bright then made a motion to approve the list as recommended, with a second by Alexandro Guerra. The motion passed 6-1, with Burns offering the sole dissenting vote.
Beverly Hills Unified School District going to the extreme and isn't every month European heritage month by default? Plus Hispanic heritage month encompasses people with European heritage to begin with. BHUSD Board Considers Opt-Out Policy for Religious Beliefs
https://beverlyhillscourier.com/2025/...
The Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) board at its Oct. 28 meeting discussed a new policy that would prohibit district staff from engaging in “religious indoctrination” and require parents and guardians to be given the option to opt out of any instruction based on their religious beliefs.
The policy stems from a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, which held that not providing guardians with those options constituted a violation of their religious freedoms under the First Amendment.
The policy considered by BHUSD board members was drafted by the California School Boards Association (CSBA).
...
On Oct. 28, the BHUSD board was presented with CSBA’s draft policy. Despite being instigated by Mahmoud v. Taylor, the policy prepared by CSBA did not reference LGBTQ. books or single out elementary schools. Rather, the proposed language offered broad regulations prohibiting district employees from interfering with students’ religious beliefs or engaging in “religious indoctrination.”
The draft reads, in part, “Teachers and other district staff shall be highly sensitive to their obligation not to interfere with the religious development of any student in whatever tradition the student embraces, and treat all religions and religious convictions, including nonbelief, with fairness and respect.”
The draft also requires that parents and guardians be notified and have the option to opt out of instruction “based on their religious beliefs,” and that students who are opted out must be offered an alternate educational activity.
Many members of the board found the language offered by CSBA too vague.
“It is supposed to be for sincerely held religious beliefs, which is not an issue, but if you look at different experiences in schools, unless we are very clear, there could be a lot of reasons for [opting out] … it’s a much broader and philosophical conversation,” said Board Member Amanda Stern.
Board Member Russell Stuart agreed.
“What [was] passed was fairly specific, and then this is incredibly broad,” he said. “Now, you kind of open up these floodgates to cherry-pick anything that might cross your religious understanding … my understanding when this rule came down from the federal government was [that it was] very specific on a topic.”
BHUSD Superintendent Alex Cherniss requested that board members come up with wording that more accurately reflects the intent of the policy.
“We’re hearing ‘no specifics,'” he said. “If the board, between now and the next meeting, wants to provide us with specific language, please do that and we’ll bring it back for second reading.”
In other business, the board narrowly approved a resolution recognizing ten nationally observed Heritage and Pride Months throughout the year. The months celebrate various racial, ethnic and other historically marginalized groups.
During discussion, Board Vice President Judy Manouchehri and Board Member Sigalie Sabag voiced their opposition to the resolution.
“I’m just concerned that by acknowledging some [groups] and not others, which is what this does, that we’re creating another issue of disparity, because European American Heritage Months are not on here, other Heritage Months that could potentially be created are not on here,” said Manouchehri, adding that the “ship has possibly sailed on a resolution like this.”
Sabag added that the board should be “concentrat[ing] on the education.”
“I think this is very polarizing, and I think the way it’s written is not going to be positive,” she said.
The board voted 3-2 to pass the resolution, with Manouchehri and Sabag voting no.
Additionally, the board heard and made comments on the district’s 2025-26 strategic plan.
The plan, presented by Cherniss and Assistant Superintendent of Education Services Dustin Seemann, included six overarching goals: improving student achievement, improving the quality of instruction, increasing student engagement in extracurricular activities, facilities completion, ensuring fiscal responsibility and a continued emphasis on safety and security.
Regarding student achievement, quality of instruction and student engagement in extracurriculars, the district plans to use measures such as tutoring, a new math curriculum, a district-wide writing workshop program and academic interventions when necessary to achieve its goals.
Board members brought up various concerns regarding these goals. Stern noted that Horace Mann Elementary’s test scores were below those of El Rodeo Elementary School.
“I really would love to know what can be done to support Horace Mann perhaps more comprehensively, given that difference,” she said.
Board President Rachelle Marcus expressed a desire for students to do more reading on their own time.
“In English, in the middle school and the elementary school … getting kids to read books just to read books, to improve their skills of understanding in reading—I don’t think I see enough of that,” she said. “They are required to read the book in class, they read the book in class. What about the reading outside of class, and the strength and the rigor that that will provide? And book reports? … I really feel that’s something we are missing.”
The scheduled vote on the strategic plan was tabled to give administrators time to incorporate board comments and concerns.
Back to Texas where it's hard to get books nowThis story is blocked for me
https://www.expressnews.com/news/educ...
Yahoo has the story
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/l...
...
at public school libraries across Texas, a new law has hindered efforts to get books into the hands of students by delaying purchase orders and giving parents greater influence over what all students - not just their own - can read at school. Senate Bill 13 requires elected trustees, many of whom have no background in literature or library sciences, to approve every book a certified librarian wants to order for their campus.
Under the law, which took effect on Sept. 1, school boards must vote on any new library materials after a 30-day public review period. That process prolongs the time it takes to get new books on the shelves, said Lucy Podmore, a longtime Northside ISD librarian and past chair of the Texas Association of School Librarians.
It used to take six to eight weeks from placing an order to receiving the books, but now the process stretches to about twelve weeks, Podmore explained. The delay is even longer for librarians in school districts that are still developing and training advisory committees.
Board approval is required not only for new books, Podmore said, but also for different versions of existing library materials, such as books with Spanish translations, larger text for visually impaired students or alternate covers.
"Why are we making it harder for people to get books in the hands of students?" She said. "We already have people and processes in place that can support a parent's right to make decisions about reading material for their children, so why are we creating all of these other hoops that people need to go through to get a book in a library?"
The author of Senate Bill 13, Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, argues that the legislation provides a safeguard against inappropriate books and content "by providing increased structure and transparency to the processes and standards for school library book acquisition." In a statement of legislative intent, Paxton emphasized that the law provides greater transparency to parents, who are the "ultimate decider" in all aspects of their kids' education.
The law's impact has reached classrooms, forcing teachers to either catalog their entire book collections or remove them altogether. Some districts, like North East and New Braunfels ISDs, temporarily suspended library access for students earlier this year to ensure compliance with the law.
Of the 19 public school districts fully or partially located in Bexar County, at least three - North East, South San Antonio and San Antonio ISDs - are allowing community members to serve on library advisory committees to vet purchase orders and make recommendations on whether they should be approved.
...
In August, North East ISD teachers were informed that students from pre-K through 12th grade would no longer have access to classroom libraries "for the purpose of voluntary inquiry to select books independently," according to a district email.
That guidance was later rescinded, but educators must still review all books in their classroom libraries to identify any content considered inappropriate under SB 13 and list those books in an online catalog, NEISD Superintendent Sean Maika said during a September Express-News editorial board meeting.
Along with campus library materials, all books available to students for independent reading in classrooms must also be publicly posted and approved by the board. A list of proposed classroom library titles published on the district's website this month includes thousands of entries.
Maika, who has worked in Texas public schools for decades, said this period of time is without precedent. More than 800 bills related to public schools passed during during the last legislative session, he said, and school districts are doing "the best we can" to keep up.
"They don't even have all of the guidance out there for us yet, which is difficult, quite frankly, because some of these are laws, and when you break the law, you're going to find yourself in trouble," he said.
Maika acknowledged that some teachers have decided to remove their classroom libraries because of the additional burden of having to catalog everything. Many parents have volunteered to help review the books and ensure the district complies with the law, but teachers are already overworked, and this adds yet another responsibility to their workload, he said.
Plus, the superintendent noted that educators are fearful about facing backlash over a book in their collection.
"I've seen it in my district where something rose up and caught the ire of a group, and it just absolutely envelops people," he said. "It becomes miserable, and we're trying to protect teachers because nobody wants to put a teacher in harm's way and have some parent come in and question them and point to a bill and say they didn't comply with it."
An NEISD kindergarten teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, echoed Maika's sentiment. The longtime educator said her classroom library is her - and her students' - favorite part of the room.
She noted that discussions about book bans are not new for NEISD. District officials took heat in 2021 for a review of 432 titles at the behest of a conservative North Texas lawmaker and the removal of 110 of them, insisting it was only because they were outdated, poorly reviewed or underused.
Not everyone believed it. During the 2023-24 school year, the district removed more than 900 books from its shelves for failing to "meet selection criteria," according to an Express-News investigation. Many of the titles were centered on LGBTQ and racial experiences.
So far this school year, NEISD has added at least 340 books to its "weeded book log," including "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini; "Beloved" by Toni Morrison; "Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens" by Kathy Belge; "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou; "The Freedom Writers Diary" by Erin Gruwell; and "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker.
NEISD is currently accepting applications from parents who wish to serve on campus library advisory committees to review proposed materials.
If a school district receives a petition signed by either at least 10% of the parents of enrolled students or at least 50 parents, it is required to establish a library advisory council. Established by the board, these parent-led committees are charged with overseeing school districts' acquisition of new materials, reviewing challenged content and making recommendations to ensure "local community values are reflected in each school library catalog."
Throughout the legislative session, Paxton, the bill's author, emphasized that SB 13 was about empowering parents and making the school library process more transparent.
"Texas parents deserve to know that the books on their children's school library shelves are age-appropriate and reflect the values of their local communities," Paxton said in a statement.
Anne Russey, co-director of the Texas Freedom to Read Network, a parent-led group advocating against censorship and book banning in schools, had a different perspective. The advisory committees create opportunities for "people with bad intentions to micromanage the vital work that our public school librarians do," she said.
In Texas, public school librarians are required to have a valid teaching certificate, two years of classroom teaching experience and a master's degree from an accredited university. Many school districts face challenges in filling librarian vacancies, while others are eliminating positions to reduce costs.
Russey, who co-founded the advocacy group in 2023 after seeing a surge in book challenges and removals in her children's district, Katy ISD, said Texas librarians are frustrated by the politicization of a role meant to foster students' love of learning. She acknowledged that while parents should be able to make decisions about what their own children read, most do not want the authority to decide for all other students.
Instead, Russey cited data from the American Library Association revealing that 72% of demands to censor books in public schools and libraries during 2024 came from pressure groups and government entities. She said there's broad concern about hyper-politicized school boards using the advisory councils as "opportunities to appoint their preferred volunteers to manage every aspect of our public school libraries."
"This is not a parental rights movement; this is a political movement," she said.
Earlier this month, the New Braunfels ISD board voted to temporarily close the district's middle and high school libraries so a committee could review the books to identify whether the current titles comply with SB 13.
The decision came days after Libs of TikTok, a right-wing account on X with more than four million followers, posted a screenshot of the district's online library database and criticized the presence of books about LGBTQ experiences and racism.
...
Trustees voted last week to reopen the libraries following the review of more than 50,000 books. According to the district's website, several titles - including "The Handmaid's Tale," "The Kite Runner," and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" - have been flagged as requiring additional evaluation.
Podmore said school librarians already complete comprehensive reviews when placing book orders. They are also used to working with parents to ensure students aren't reading anything they are not comfortable with. SB 13 simplifies parental oversight, but Podmore said the problem arises when parents try to make those decisions for other children.
Northside ISD, San Antonio's largest school district with roughly 100,000 students, submitted more than 6,000 library material purchase orders between August and February of the last school year, she said. While some orders were for bulk purchases, many were smaller and resulted from discussions between a librarian and an individual student.
Now, if a student requests a book for an assignment, competition or personal interest, Podmore said it may take months before it's in their hands.
"That's hard, as a librarian, to not be able to provide what your kids need," she added.
Sitting on a bench in the Cardenas library, Edgewood ISD Director of Technology Todd Gratehouse said the more significant change under the bill has been ensuring teacher libraries are posted in the district's online inventory system.
Gratehouse said he wasn't entirely sure why teachers were removing their libraries, but it could be due to a lack of time or resources to catalog them, concerns that the books they purchased might be confiscated or fear of being targeted by outside groups.
He emphasized that supporting school libraries is essential for helping students build their literacy skills.
"School libraries are really the first introduction for many of our students into what can happen in a story," he said. "Many parents curate books or read to their kids, but for students who don't have that experience at home, they can come to a school library and see the colorful covers and just look through them as a kid."
Mod
This makes me sick and I sure hope the shooter gets arrested, is found guilty (which is for me the ONLY judgement that would make sense) and ends up rotting in jail for a long time (and will also never be allowed to either own or even touch any kind of firearm again), but I bet this will not happen and that the victims will end up being blamed just because of their ethnicity.
Back to PA where a new report tells us what we already know. Right-wing school boards, a small minority of the population, are driving book bans. My mom grew up in the next county where they do not permit censorship. She credits her high school BFF for that!https://buckscountybeacon.com/2025/11...
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SBS is a response to the rise of repressive school policies that are part of the right-wing culture panic wave that has been sweeping the nation since the days of the COVID shutdowns. From Chris Rufos’s ginned up panic about Critical Race Theory through outrage over DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies, and with constant bigoted background noise about LGBTQ persons, school boards have been trying to impose a set of exclusionary cultural rules on schools, students, and teachers under a banner of “parental rights.” In Pennsylvania, there’s even a legal shop – the Independence Law Center – that exists just to help school boards craft policies that impose a conservative straight white heterosexual Christianist world view while banning books and voices that might dissent. Because when the culture warriors say “parental rights,” what they really mean is only certain parents.
SBS notes school districts across the country that have taken part in this culture panic wave, and they have also done deep dives into two states. One is Florida, which could be expected to lead the pack in all of these initiatives, but the other is Pennsylvania.
...
Pennridge School District. Pennridge had already elected a right-wing board before 2023. They had trouble telling creationism from science. They banned Banned Books Week. They tried to clamp down on student expression. And they removed DEI policies.
Then in 2023, they hired Jordan Adams, a one-man right-wing education consultant, to scour through their curriculum and remove all things woke. Adams had previously almost been hired by Mom for Liberty Co-founder Bridget Ziegler for her Florida school board. There he made the mistake of giving Ziegler his actual plan on the public record, including his promises to be an extension of the same right-wing movement that got her elected with the intent of reshaping public education. He even offered to use his position to spy for her. That board declined to hire him; Pennridge was not so wise. Adams gave the Pennridge curriculum a right-wing makeover. Then the voters gave the board a makeover.
...
Lancaster County has five districts on the list, including Elizabethtown, Hempfield, Penn Manor, Pequea Valley, and Warwick. Lancaster County has been fertile ground for the Independence Law Center, the legal arm of the Pennsylvania Family Institute (“Our goal is for Pennsylvania to be a place where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive, and life is cherished”) and four of these five districts are Independence Law Center clients. In fact, Hempfield was one of the first districts to adopt ILC’s trans student sports ban policy.
The database includes school districts from all across the state.
Penncrest School District in Northwest PA was served by a board member who called Black Lives Matter a “hate group” and that books with LGBTQ characters are evil. This was the board member who, in response to a challenge of the board’s new rules on censoring books, responded “I honestly don’t care what the law says.” Penncrest also imposed a trans sports ban.
Of the almost 200 boards that SBS looked into, nearly 40, or 1 in 5, had instituted some sort of bad culture panic policy. These are boards that help underline the importance of paying attention when electing board members, and paying attention to elections is part of the Pipeline Education Fund DNA.
The Pipeline Education Fund is a part of a trio of organizations created with the Pipeline Fund, a group launched in 2024 to help promote downballot liberal candidates by both recruiting them and connecting them with state and national organizations for funding and support. Its pipeline announces (in all caps) that “the Pipeline Fund leads a robust coalition of over 100 organizations dedicated to ensuring our next generation of leaders is fully supported to run for office; wage effective campaigns; and, once in office, advance progressive policies that address the urgent needs of all Americans.” In Pennsylvania they have worked with LEAD PA, an organization that works to cultivate a “new generation of progressive community and civic leaders” across Pennsylvania.
The group was meant to counterbalance right-wing downballot candidates, like the school board members backed by Moms for Liberty. It was spun off from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a left-leaning dark money fund. According to the New York Times, the Sixteen Thirty Fund is funded by George Soros.
The co-founder and executive director of the Pipeline Fund is Denise Feriozzi. Feriozzi previously worked at the Civitas Public Affairs Group, Emily’s List, and on the campaigns of several Democratic candidates, including Hilary Clinton’s Presidential campaign as Iowa Caucus Field Director.
...
As several outlets have reported, this year’s gathering of Moms for Liberty featured a new mission. Rather than continuing to take over local school boards (a goal that seems to have stalled amidst backlash against the far-right Moms), leaders are now encouraging cranky moms to turn their grievances into lawsuits instead of campaign posters.
In the meantime, the Pipeline Fund has said it will expand operations to 21 states, including both blue and red states.
Moms for Liberty CEO & Co-Founder Tina Descovich verbally attacked the @buckscountybeacon.com at Harrisburg-area event last week while introducing Bucks Chapter Chair Jamie Tromba. Our crime? Journalism. Read more here: bit.ly/46XkOQh
Montana wants to regulate what teachers learn at professional conferences based on videos taken out of context.https://dailymontanan.com/2025/10/31/...
First 2027 Legislature bill draft requested in response to ‘woke’ seminars at teachers’ conference
Legislation from Regier, state superintendent would limit teachers’ educational opportunities; state’s largest union says allegations ‘completely false,’
Montana’s state Senate President, Matt Regier, has requested the first bill draft of the 2027 Legislature to rein in what he described as “political agendas” at teacher educational conferences.
The move follows backlash from conservative Republicans after recordings from several sessions of the Montana Federation of Public Employees educator conference were released on social media about culture-war topics, including book bans, gender ideology, and censorship in art.
The educator conference had more than 300 sessions educators could attend during two days in October and provided required professional development units for educators.
Shortly after the conference and announcement from Regier, MFPE said it was proud of the presentations on topics in math, science, language, art and more. It said nearly 1,000 educators from public and private schools attended.
With the backing of State Superintendent Susie Hedalen, Regier requested the bill draft title “Revise education laws related to teacher training and education and meetings of teacher organizations,” which he said will be similar to a bill brought this session that failed on a final vote in the Senate during the 2025 session.
“Coming into this session, we knew this was an issue with PIR (pupil-instruction-related) days. There had been reporting on it from the conference last year,” Regier, the Kalispell Republican, said. “We need to make sure that tax dollars aren’t going towards political agendas in our schools.”
The controversy over the educators conference arose earlier this month after an individual went “undercover” at the conference and recorded educators at several of the sessions, releasing snippets of conversation online and tagging elected officials.
Amanda Curtis, president of MFPE, told the Daily Montanan that the recordings and subsequent backlash from Regier and Hedalen was disinformation and lacked context.
“I think I just have to say they are outright lying about what happens at this conference, and I don’t really understand what good it’s serving Montana students,” Curtis said. “There’s a lot of heartburn and disappointment in the Senate president and superintendent grandstanding on the first bill title being a teacher attack bill when they really could be focusing on helping … recruit and retain Montana teachers.” ...
In a joint press release, Hedalen and Regier said their legislation would “end the practice of Montana teachers receiving educational credit for their participation in conferences promoting extreme leftist ideology and classroom indoctrination.” ...
Curtis said that broad legislation that could remove PIR days from state law would have wide-reaching implications for educators and students, and said that MFPE was proud to stand behind the extensive curriculum offered at their seminar. ...
The MFPE conference, held in Missoula, included more than 320 different sessions for educators to attend, mostly one- or two-hours modules capped at 20 to 30 educators.
The sessions covered the full spectrum of opportunities for educators, including topics like “Dyslexia the Superpower;” “Bring the stock market to life in your classroom;” “Advancing proficiency in STEM: practical strategies with AI and socratic dialogue;” “Fostering curiosity in your classroom with live butterflies;” “Rockets in the science classroom, Grades 6 7 8 9;” and a panel on school funding sponsored by the Legislature’s Interim School Funding Committee. OPI also had exhibition booths and their own presentations.
But Hedalen and Regier’s legislation focused on four seminars “promoting radical gender ideology, DEI, nude child photography, and sexually explicit books.”
Finley Warden, who isn’t a teacher but on social media says he goes “undercover to expose the far left,” recorded parts of four seminars and released short pieces of audio. Warden is a young, Missoula-based conservative activist who has testified before the Legislature
According to an MFPE spokesperson, Warden registered for the conference as himself. In various sessions he presented himself as an art education student and a math teacher, and was introduced as himself by Curtis in one session.
Curtis said the recordings lacked any context, couldn’t be verified, and might be illegal under Montana law, which requires all-party consent before making audio recordings in private spaces. She said the union is consulting with attorneys and would take steps to protect the personal and professional safety of anyone recorded without their consent.
One seminar was “DEI &A in the 2025 Art Room,” which included a discussion about censorship of art, specifically the 2024 removal of photographer Sally Mann’s exhibition from a gallery in Texas by police. Mann, once named the country’s best photographer, has sparked controversy going back to the 1990s, over a series of her work depicting her young children, sometimes in the nude. The National Coalition Against Censorship in a statement about the controversy said the photos contain “neither s--ual context nor s--ual content.”
The recording of the teachers’ discussion includes references to how the Nazi regime censored abstract art, and how to have discussions with students over whether censorship in art is acceptable.
Other seminars that drew ire included one, capped at 25 educators, that was a training on advocacy and law for librarians. The course description stated it would show ways librarians can “uphold the laws protecting libraries in the face of information and material challenges and the challenge to our profession as a whole.”
A portion of that seminar, released in a recording, centered around a librarian telling a “victory story” about a graphic novel that had been removed from a school library, and the librarian’s role in getting it put back on the shelf after numerous students had requested it.
Regier and Hedalen described the situation as a story about “bringing a s--ually explicit book back to her library to provide to middle school students.”
The book in question, a graphic novel in the Heartstopper series, focuses on a fictional gay high school couple, and has been the focus of several book bans in other states.
The press release from the state describes the book as including “multiple passages of explicit softcore p----graphy.” The nonprofit Common Sense Media, which allows parents to rate media content, lists it as appropriate for ages 14 and up, and says it includes passages of high school students in a sex education class, and “implied s--ual activity.”
A third seminar that was recorded included a member of the National Education Association sharing that there are educational modules that educators can access online to learn about LGBTQ+ issues, including gender identity and gender expression.
None of the MFPE sessions are mandatory for educators.
Curtis told the Daily Montanan that lacking context and the extent of discussions which took place in each seminar, the recordings and their characterization amounted to “lying and misinformation” about the conference.
Regier told the Daily Montanan in a phone call Friday that he was “not demonizing the education system,” but wanted to make sure there were safeguards in place to protect Montana students.
“If the unions are going to keep going with s--ualized content for kids or DEI or any of this other stuff that’s being reported, at a minimum I want to stop taxpayer dollars from going towards these,” Regier said. “If we’ve got 300 great courses here, and one that will s--ualize your kids, or if there’s one teacher that has one left-liberal agenda – and they’re there for that and not to teach the kids math — that’s a problem.”
He said the goal of his bill is to put the decision about teacher educational opportunities in the hands of school districts, which can decide whether to keep the October days and what conference teachers should go to, and keep the “bad apples from pushing their agenda.”
He added that the bill will be modeled on House Bill 557, legislation with similar content brought by Rep. Jodee Etchart, R-Billings. The bill passed the House but died in a final vote in the Senate, after two Republican senators changed their votes. ...
Following the release of the audio from the teacher’s conference, Hedalen sent a letter to school districts, saying there had been “potential violations of state and federal law in public schools related to DEI and gender identity instruction.”
The letter reminded educators “to remain in full compliance with the law and to uphold the responsibilities entrusted to us by Montana families,” and pointed to legislation from the 2025 session including House Bill 471, which requires parents opt-in to human sexuality and identity instruction.
In the press release, Hedalen said she is “currently investigating MFPE and other professional development providers,” to make sure they are following state and federal laws. The release also said that MFPE had not publicly published its conference agenda and list of sessions.
But Curtis said that OPI had been invited to participate “in every step of the planning process” of the conference, as they are every year.
“Our office took their unanswered emails and lack of attendance in any planning meeting to mean they had no concerns with the conference,” Curtis said. “The list of courses has been available for review since May of 2025. ...
In an email, the spokesperson from OPI said that while many sessions at the conference “could have been beneficial to educators, there were also many that were problematic; introducing instruction that would be in violation of state or federal law or the educator code of ethics.”
Asked about specific seminars, OPI commented on the librarian discussing bringing the graphic novel back to the library but said there has been no legal investigation into whether any rules or district or state policies had been violated.
“The discussion about returning a s--ually explicit book to school libraries is ultimately a decision that should rest with parents. They are best positioned to determine whether material of that nature is appropriate for their 12- or 13-year-old children to read,” OPI said.
Hedalen said through an OPI spokesperson that they had no prior knowledge that anyone was going to make recordings of the MFPE conference and that no one “recommended, suggested, or promoted such actions.”
The spokesperson for OPI clarified that the office does not want to stop PIR days or limit professional development opportunities for educators.
“Our goal is to end the outdated practice of requiring schools to close for a specific conference and instead empower local districts and teachers to decide how and when to use those days for professional growth,” the spokesperson said in an email. ...
On Thursday morning, Hedalen had a meeting with Curtis that Hedalen described as “cordial,” but did not offer details. Curtis said it was a “productive meeting” in a press release, and emphasized the organization has a “shared commitment to continue working with her to provide irreplaceable professional development for educators.”
In addition to the requested legislation lawmakers will consider in 2027, the Office of Public Instruction is working on their own changes to professional development for educators.
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Undercover recordings distorted teacher training, union official saidA college activist captured audio of a librarian defending a book featuring a same sex teen romance and a teacher lamenting art censorship. The clips went viral, inspiring legislation and debate.
https://www.ktvq.com/news/montana-new...
Twenty-year-old college student Finley Warden said he attended an October educator conference organized by the Montana Federation of Public Employees, the state’s largest union, as “a concerned Montanan.”
“I truly care about our education system, its integrity, and I care about the professional development training that is being taught to our teachers,” Warden, who said he grew up attending public schools in Missoula, told Montana Free Press on Oct 28. “Because when I went through the Montana public school system, I really saw firsthand how leftism and leftist indoctrination has been pushed in the classroom, and teachers’ unions, specifically this MFPE conference, has been a source of that indoctrination in Montana.”
Warden — who lives in Bozeman and recently began online studies at Liberty University, a private evangelical school based in Virginia — recorded many of the events he attended at the conference in Missoula.
In an Oct. 17 post on X, he wrote that he “went undercover” at the conference. “You won’t believe what I caught them saying when leftist teachers and activists think no one is listening,” he wrote. ...
Conservative newsletters, radio shows and social media accounts, including Libs of TikTok, an account with millions of followers, promptly reshared Warden’s audio clips and posts. Warden says he also shared the clips directly with Montana’s Office of Public Instruction (OPI), which oversees public K-12 school districts. About nine hours after Warden shared the first audio clip from the conference on X, Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen, the state’s top education official, sent a letter to school district administrators reminding them to comply with state and federal laws “related to DEI and gender identity instruction.” The letter referenced “potential violations of state and federal law in public schools,” but when pressed by MTFP for violations by schools or at the MFPE conference, OPI spokesperson McKenna Gregg did not offer any.
On Oct. 27, Hedalen, a Republican, and state Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, sent a joint press release citing the viral recordings and co-announcing their intention to support legislation in 2027 that could change how educators in Montana access professional development opportunities. The proposed legislation would “end the practice of Montana teachers receiving educational credit for their participation in conferences promoting extreme leftist ideology and classroom indoctrination,” according to the press release.
Amanda Curtis, the president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees, said the audio was presented misleadingly, that the librarian defending the book did not violate any procedures and that viral recordings could have “terrible” long-term consequences...
MTFP talked to Warden, conference attendees and Hedalen’s spokesperson, and reviewed several audio recordings to compile this account of what transpired and the potential implications for educators across the state if such a bill should advance. ...
Regier and Hedalen in their release allege “MFPE failed to publicly put their conference agenda and sessions online.” The incident marks the latest skirmish in a long history of conflict between the state’s largest union and Montana’s GOP.
This October marked the second consecutive year that Warden, a self-described “America First” activist, said he attended the conference. He told MTFP that his experiences with “leftist instruction” in Montana public schools motivated him to attend the conferences and that he was able to register although he is not an educator.
“I was really one of the only openly conservative students in my high school,” he said of his time in the Missoula County Public School system. “And so whenever there was political discussion in the classroom it would often be kind of me versus the rest of the class and the teacher. And in those moments, I was just really just sharing the opposite side, just the mainstream conservative opinion, and that’s something that was never present in the classroom.” ...
Last February, Warden referenced his experience attending the 2024 educator conference when he testified at a committee hearing in support of a bill that would have made it optional, rather than mandatory, for school boards to close schools for professional development meetings, like MFPE’s educator conference.
Kim Popham, former high school teacher and MFPE’s director of policy and research, at the same committee hearing told lawmakers the conference “is invaluable to teachers and, in turn, their students.”
“Not only do the teachers benefit by learning and earning their renewal units, but the local economy benefits when thousands of people travel to the conference and spend money,” she said. “This conference is an important opportunity for teachers to collaborate with others and learn in order to better help our public school students in Montana.”
House Bill 557 died on a 24-26 vote in the GOP-majority state Senate last April. In their joint press release referencing Warden’s audio, Regier and Hedalen said the new legislation would be modeled after it.
Citing Warden’s recordings, Hedalen and Regier’s press release describes an incident at the conference in which a librarian talks about “a s--ually explicit book” that “includes multiple passages of explicit softcore p--graphy.”
According to the full recording, provided by Warden, an unidentified educator does share what she called a “victory story” about restoring a book to the shelves of a middle school library. One area of confusion, however, seems to be the question of which book the librarian was referring to.
“About four years ago, I had a book in my library that my colleague removed without telling me,” she said, according to the recording Warden shared on X. MTFP verified that the librarian said this at an Oct. 16 “Advocacy and Law for Librarians” session. “And my colleague, when she made this decision, was not truthful with our administrator that it was going to result in the book being removed from our library. I did not find out about it until after it was already gone. And this was a situation where this librarian struggled to maintain objectivity. Her heart was in the right place, 100% her heart was in the right place, but she was leading with her heart and not with her head, and it caused a book to eventually be censored from my library.”
The educator went on to say she ordered the book this year after it was taken off the shelves and it’s on its way.
“Now my eighth-graders will be able to pick it up on the shelf,” she said in the recording.
Warden wrote on X that after the presentation, the librarian told him she was referring to the “Heartstopper” series. ...
Curtis said the librarian told her she was referring to volume one in the series, which chronicles the boys’ friendship as it gradually develops into a romantic relationship. There are several illustrations of the two boys kissing on the lips in volume one, and no nudity or s-x acts are featured. But Warden shared the audio clip alongside an image of volume five of the series. Volume five follows the couple as they advance their physical relationship and decide to have s-x.
Warden’s Oct. 20 post of the clip characterized what was said as follows: “A middle school librarian brags about adding a book with s--ual content to her school library. The book was once removed from the library but she describes how she brought it back.”
Later that day, Libs of TikTok, an account with 4.5 million followers, shared the post with the description: “Undercover audio reveals Montana teacher boasting about making sure students have access to p**n books. This must be investigated immediately. These teachers think they can get away with secretly grooming your kids.”
MFPE’s Curtis said she has spoken with the librarian who is heard in the clip and determined that the quote was presented out of context to misrepresent the librarian’s actions.
“This librarian’s story is actually a great example of how educators and school communities implement policies districts adopt after the Legislature passes laws,” she wrote in an Oct. 30 email. “The book wasn’t removed because it was challenged through the proper channels, it was just taken off the shelf. Then it took several years of making sure the book cleared the selection process to bring it back.”
MFPE said the librarian in the recording works for Missoula County Public Schools. MCPS Communications Specialist Jennifer Savage said there have been no formal or informal challenges to “Heartstopper” titles within the district. Some libraries in the district have volumes one through four of the “Heartstopper” series, and others have all five books, she said.
Montana law requires each school district’s board of trustees to set school library collection and reconsideration policies. In Missoula County Public Schools, library books are selected to “provide materials which support the curriculum and learning,” “to provide equitable access to a variety of information materials,” and “to provide materials which reflect many sides of issues, beliefs and ideas,” among other objectives, according to district policies. The district also has processes for challenging educational materials, which include discussing concerns with the person responsible for the material (a teacher or librarian) and submitting a formal request for reconsideration. ...
OPI spokesperson McKenna Gregg said Hedalen’s support for the new legislation “is not based solely on the recently released audio recordings.” When asked in an Oct. 27 interview on Montana Public Radio if schools are teaching “things that run afoul of state or federal law,” Hedalen said, “I do not have concrete examples.”
Another example offered in the news release sent by Hedalen and Regier cites audio from a “‘DEI in Art’ panel decrying the removal of a photography display of nude children.”
MTFP was unable to identify the speaker in the clip or obtain the full audio to clarify the context.
In the clip shared by Warden, a conference presenter spoke about an incident involving award-winning photographer Sally Mann’s work. In January, after a conservative Christian advocacy group accused a museum in Texas of displaying “child p---graphy,” police seized four of Mann’s photographs from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. After national condemnation from civil liberty organizations, police returned the art.
The speaker in Warden’s clip called the removal of Mann’s work “censorship” and encouraged teachers to explore the theme with students, referencing the Nazi party’s restrictions on modern art.
“I think that if I were teaching K-12 right now, I would look at censorship, and I would look at the Nazi regime and what Hitler did with abstraction, right?” the conference presenter said, according to the recording. “That became inappropriate, disgusting art. I just think that it would be helpful to look at how censorship has played out in history and to have discussions with students as to whether or not it’s OK.”
The third viral audio clip, referenced in the press release for draft legislation, involves a discussion of gender and sexuality. Unlike the other two clips, MTFP found that the audio was not, in fact, recorded at the recent conference.
In the clip shared by Warden, Brisson says that NEA provides several LGBTQ resources to assist educators and administrators. He also said people can find guidance by searching online for the “gender unicorn..."
In May, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill requiring parental consent for students to receive instruction on gender identity and changing guidelines around human sexuality instruction to ensure parents or guardians are notified ahead of time.In the news release announcing Regier’s legislation proposal, Hedalen wrote: “Montana parents have made it clear they want classrooms that teach, not indoctrinate. Our schools exist to educate children, not to serve as platforms for political activism or social experimentation.
“When taxpayer dollars fund ‘professional development’ that celebrates sexually explicit books, defends nude images of minors as ‘art,’ and promotes gender ideology to young children, something has gone deeply wrong.”
While bill language for a 2027 version won’t be available until much closer to the legislative session, Kyle Schmauch, communications director for state Senate Republicans, told MTFP that Regier and Hedalen have two concepts in mind: ending the mandatory school closures for professional development meetings, and revising the standards that define what trainings count for professional development credits “with the intent that tax dollars and state-endorsed educational credits don’t include courses promoting political ideology or activism.”
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North CarolinaRandolph County Commissioner confirms effort to 'reorganize' library board of trustees
https://www.wfdd.org/politics-governm...
A Randolph County Commissioner has confirmed an effort to reorganize the local library’s board of trustees following a recent decision to keep a children’s book about a transgender boy on the shelves.
But the issue is not currently on Monday's meeting agenda.
A screenshot circulating on social media from a local religious organization, Return America, stated that commissioners planned to dismiss and replace the entire library board at their Nov. 3 meeting.
The trustees voted several weeks ago to keep the book Call Me Max in the children’s section after a community member requested it be removed or relocated.
That meeting was packed, with dozens of public speakers divided on the issue. But the conversation didn’t stop after the vote. Local pastors and politicians took to podcasts and social media to condemn the decision.
Now, Commissioner Lester Rivenbark said he's considering making changes to the library’s board.
“It's coming just from the wants and the needs of Randolph County," he said, explaining what prompted the idea. "This is for the safety of our children.”
Rivenbark said he wasn’t sure the changes would happen in the upcoming meeting, but didn’t rule it out either.
"We will find out," Rivenbark said.
The effort was news to Commissioner Hope Haywood, though, who said she saw an item added to the board’s agenda Wednesday morning that said “Reorganization of the Library Board of Trustees” with no additional information.
“When I asked our board attorney, 'What is the intention? Is it to do away with the board entirely? Is it to replace the current members?' The board attorney was not sure," Haywood said.
Haywood said removing the trustees would first require a public hearing with 30 days’ notice. She thinks the commission will likely set a date for a hearing at their upcoming meeting, and noted how valuable the library is to the Randolph community.
“So whatever we do, I just want to be thoughtful about it," she said. "I want to be responsive, but I also want to be thoughtful.”
Randolph Commission sets public hearing for reorganization of local library's Board of Trustees
https://www.wfdd.org/politics-governm...
...
Even though it wasn’t on this meeting’s agenda, the issue brought several residents out to speak on the issue. Most of them, like Susie Scott, expressed support for the library board.
“This board made the courageous decision to keep our library welcoming and relevant to all of their patrons," Scott said. "They did not bow to political pressure, and we should be applauding their integrity.”
On the other side of the issue, a few speakers said they supported a review of the current board and disagreed with the “Call Me Max” decision, including Commissioner Lester Rivenbark's wife, Amanda.
"You, as our commissioners, appoint to this board, and I do not feel that this board is representing the citizens of Randolph County well," she said.
The public hearing will be held on Dec. 8.
IdahoIdaho book censorship law bothers Ninth Circuit
The schools say the state's restrictions on "harmful" materials violate their First Amendment rights.
https://www.courthousenews.com/idaho-...
An Idaho law restricting what materials students can access in schools and libraries drew scrutiny at the Ninth Circuit on Monday as a group of schools urged the court to block the law.
“This statute imposes real burdens on the schools we represent, who are not intending in any way to use obscene materials and want only to use those materials that they’ve used year in and year out to educate their students,” said Kevin Trowel, attorney with the New York-based Free and Fair Litigation group.
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A group of private schools, privately funded libraries, parents and schoolchildren sued the state in federal court weeks after the law took effect, arguing that the law infringes on their First Amendment rights. ...
Before a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit, the schools argued that they simply want to use constitutionally protected materials in their curricula. Under the First Amendment, materials must be considered obscene in order for states to restrict their distribution.
...
The law’s definition of “sexual conduct” and “nudity” could allow anyone to sue one of the plaintiff schools for using the textbooks it has relied on in its science, humanities and health education courses. Another school argued it could be sued for having books that depict same-sex characters engaging in nonsexual activities, as the law’s definition of “sexual conduct” includes “any act of … homosexuality.”
U.S. Circuit Judge Holly Thomas, a Joe Biden appointee, asked about whether the law intended to restrict any depiction of homosexuality in nonsexual acts or not.
The schools told the court that it is unclear, because “homosexuality” is unlike the other acts defined under the “sexual conduct” section of the law.
“There’s no need to say homosexuality if homosexuality means homosexual sexual intercourse, because sexual intercourse is already included in the list,” Trowel said.
The law also suggests that individual descriptions or depictions within a larger work may be treated as obscene even when the larger work as a whole does not, maintained the schools, and it isn’t clear how schools and libraries should proceed if that is the case.
“Must they be removed from the work, pages torn out of books? Or does that in turn mean the whole work is treated as obscene because it contains an image that under this malformed Miller standard is treated as obscene?” Trowel posited.
...
U.S. Circuit Judge Milan Smith, a George W. Bush appointee, asked if there was anything in Idaho’s legislative history that gave a hint into what motivated the change to allow parents and other citizens to become “instant constitutional lawyers.”
The schools argued that this bill isn’t the first time that Idaho has strayed from following the *Miller *standard, but that this is the first one that included a citizen enforcement provision.
Idaho disagreed, telling the court that the Legislature clearly intended to comply with the Supreme Court precedent and set a reasonable limit on its scope.
But Smith had a question about the scope and particularly how schools were meant to comply with the portion of the law that requires materials to be moved to adult-only areas.
“If there’s content that is obscene as to younger children, but not as to older teenagers, where does that content go?” Smith asked.
He noted that librarians would be forced to choose between restricting access to a book or risk getting sued, which he called a “pretty serious impact on the First Amendment rights of these folks.”
The state argued that such a question isn’t before the federal court, but that the statute doesn’t necessarily take such a strict position.
“I don’t see any reason to read that as saying that something that is obscene only for 10-year-olds needs to be removed to an area that’s only for adults,” said Alan Hurst with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office.
The justices weren’t convinced the law would function that way.
“ A lot of young adult novels that may actually have sexual themes or may have nudity and fall strictly within the definition of harmful to minors would then be swept up, despite the fact that it has serious value,” said U.S. Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen, a Barack Obama appointee.
Idaho argued that there isn’t any evidence of that happening, nor any lawsuits filed under the law at all at this point. ...
Now it's private schools... North CarolinaJustices Take Up Questions About Private School Contracts
With private school vouchers expanding rapidly, a dispute between a politically connected family and one of North Carolina’s most prestigious private schools could have much broader ramifications.
https://www.theassemblync.com/politic...
A dispute between an elite Charlotte private school and parents who objected to its responses to the murder of George Floyd and the pandemic has put questions about private schools’ autonomy before the state Supreme Court.
The parents, prolific Republican donors Doug and Nicole Turpin, say that after they raised concerns about a “woke political agenda,” the school retaliated against them by expelling their two children, who had attended Charlotte Latin School since kindergarten. In their lawsuit, the couple claim that the school violated North Carolina’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act and defamed them, among several other allegations.
If successful, the case could bring the family a windfall, as a state law says that parties proving an unfair or deceptive act are due three times actual compensatory damages. But a Mecklenburg County trial court judge dismissed nearly all of the Turpins’ claims in October 2022, and two of three judges on a Court of Appeals panel later affirmed that decision.
The Turpins’ attorney, Chris Edwards, argued in a brief to the state Supreme Court that if justices decided in favor of the school, “A private school’s discretion would know no bounds.” It would mean “private schools could expel children for any number of reasons—because they don’t like the parent’s personal worldview, political or religious affiliation, job, or family or social groups,” he wrote.
Many private schools reserve such rights in the contracts they require parents to sign, as the nonprofit Public Schools First NC has highlighted. Lincolnton Christian School, for example, says in its student handbook that if “the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home” is not in line with “the biblical lifestyle the school teaches,” the school can refuse admission or discontinue enrollment.
Charlotte Latin’s Parent-School Partnership, a document incorporated into the contract, said the school “reserves the right to discontinue enrollment if it concludes that the actions of a parent/guardian make such a relationship impossible or seriously interfere with the School’s mission.”
Many of the questions in the case center on how the school, which charges as much as $35,000 in annual tuition, came to that conclusion with the Turpins.
The couple say in their lawsuit that they objected to administrators stating in a June 2020 letter to parents and staff that the “principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion were foundational” and invoking the phrase “Black Lives Matter.” They also disapproved of a video series the school distributed that suggested it had benefited from white flight, books “that were pornographic and/or not age-appropriate,” and students being asked which pronouns they preferred.
With like-minded parents, the Turpins organized a group called Refocus Latin, which was invited to give a presentation to an executive committee of the school’s board in August 2021, with assurances that no retaliation would result. At the end of the presentation, the complaint says, the board chair said that the board would not respond to the presentation or have further meetings about Charlotte Latin’s curriculum and culture. Parents were told to take issues up with administrators on an individual basis.
A few days later, Doug Turpin raised concerns with the head of the middle school about a teacher “pushing a very left wing political viewpoint.” He said his son told him “concepts like White Privilege, White fragility, systemic racism, and other highly charged political concepts are being pushed on him in ways that leave him feeling like there is something wrong with him being white and he has something to be ashamed of for being born white.” The same teacher, he wrote, did not allow his son to pull down his mask to drink water or to go to the bathroom when he asked. Doug Turpin asked for a meeting with the middle school head about his concerns. At that meeting, he learned the school had decided to expel his children.
Jennifer Van Zant, the attorney representing Charlotte Latin, told the justices during a hearing Wednesday that in choosing to send their child to a private school, “the Turpins both gained and forsook” some rights and freedoms by entering into a contract with the school. “That’s what a contract is,” she said.
Now, she said, the Turpins want to modify the contract “to give them rights they did not bargain for.”
She had her own warning for the court: Embracing the arguments made in a friend of the court brief jointly submitted by the Coalition For Liberty (a nonprofit Doug Turpin founded), two Republican members of Congress, 11 Republican members of the General Assembly, and several other nonprofits “would force judges into the business of regulating private schools.”
The lawmakers and nonprofits advocated for applying the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act to private schools in the name of transparency, accountability, and leveling the playing field between schools and families. But the result instead would be “a tort minefield,” Van Zant said. “If a private school cannot have its contractual right to end a relationship without fear of tort liability, then private schools would turn into vanilla, one-size-fits-all experiences that avoid offending everyone and end up pleasing no one.”
In a friend of the court brief supporting Charlotte Latin, the N.C. Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools said parents are free to “vote with their feet.” They cautioned the justices that the Turpins’ strategy of “mischaracterizing the school’s exercise of its contractual right as ‘retaliation,’” if successful, “would allow parents to weaponize litigation (and litigation costs) whenever a school does not bend to the will of parents who disagree with the school’s mission.”
The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte also weighed in, asking the justices to affirm the Court of Appeals decision throwing out the Turpins’ claims, which, it said, “both vindicates North Carolina contract law and preserves the constitutional autonomy of private religious schools like those operated by the Diocese.”
The justices’ questions at the Wednesday hearing mostly focused on legal procedure—like whether it’s appropriate to append a contract to a motion to dismiss—rather than the implications for the private school sector, which has received huge public investment in recent years. In 2023, the General Assembly extended the Opportunity Scholarship Program, which offers vouchers to subsidize private school tuition, from low-income families to those of any income level.
The result has been an explosion in spending. Last school year, the state spent $432 million on vouchers, according to data from the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority, which administers the program. Democrats have been critical of the program in part because it sends state funds to schools that can refuse students based on whatever terms they choose.
Republican lawmakers, in a brief encouraging the Supreme Court to take up the case, said they expected more disputes between private schools and families due to the voucher program’s expansion. Not all private schools accept vouchers; Charlotte Latin is among those that do not.
...
It could be months before the justices issue an opinion. In the meantime, Doug Turpin has been pressuring lawmakers to put more constraints on schools. His nonprofit, the Coalition For Liberty, bills itself as “leading a legal counter-offensive against cancel culture.” The organization said in its 2023 tax form that it was “working with legislators to create new legislation to protect children from harassment, intimidation, or expulsion for improper reasons.”
In 2024, Doug Turpin gave $45,000 to the N.C. Republican Party; $5,275 to Brad Overcash, chair of the state Senate’s Education/Higher Education Committee; $3,200 to Tricia Cotham, chair of the state House’s K-12 Education Committee and Education Appropriations; and $10,500 to David Willis, another chair of the same two House committees, according to data compiled by the nonprofit OpenSecrets.
[Oklahoma] Teacher lost her license after Ryan Walters accused her of indoctrinating kids. Now she's suingA former Norman Public Schools teacher is suing former state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters and five former state Board of Education members who voted to revoke her license at Walters' behest in 2024.
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/...
Paywalled
Unpaywalled story from OKNPR
https://www.kgou.org/education/2025-1...
Virginia- for now, hopefully when the new governor takes office they'll make this nonsense illegal
King William PUBLIC Library
‘Sexually explicit’ books to be restricted by library board in King William
https://archive.ph/wai8Q#selection-14...
The county library system’s board of trustees plans to restrict those under 18 from accessing “s--ually explicit” materials in the county’s libraries.
The board voted 3-1 in favor of a “child protection policy” at its meeting on Oct. 21. The move comes almost four months after the county ended its contract with the Pamunkey Regional Library system and the for-profit Library Systems & Services (LS&S) took over the King William libraries.
LS&S now runs the West Point library branch and the forthcoming upper county branch that will operate out of the county’s former parks and recreation building, which is being renovated. The libraries are overseen by a five-member board of trustees.
Prior over the county leaving the Pamunkey system, some citizens had accused the PRL of making s--ually explicit books available to young people.
The new policy was not published in the board of trustees’ meeting agenda. The county released it last week following a Freedom of Information Act request, although LS&S wants to make more revisions, a county spokeswoman said. The policy states that material containing s---ally explicit content will be moved to sections of the library where minors (under age 18) cannot access it. The policy will be controlled through minor-restricted and unrestricted library cards.
“In curating its collection for the juvenile and teen sections, it shall be the goal of the King William County Library System to ensure that materials deemed to be s--ually explicit are not placed in sections curated for minor-aged patrons,” the policy states. “The goal of this policy is to guide and ensure the appropriate placement of materials within the library facility and not to automatically exclude items based solely on the presence of s--ual content.”
The document defines sexually explicit material as books and material that (view spoiler) that is harmful to minors.”
Board member Joy Washington expressed concern about the policy on Oct. 21. “I don’t want to write any policies that put us in any kind of legal peril,” she said. “I looked at every county around us, and no other county has a child protection policy.”
County Attorney Benny Zheng said the policy is “legally defensible” because books would be moved around the library rather than banned.
“I will say this policy is a bit novel compared to some of the jurisdictions,” Zheng added. “I don’t think it’s anything that touches or veers into the dangerous aspect of banning books,” Zheng said.
Washington was the lone dissenter in the 4-1 vote. “I truly believe that parents have every right to have control over what their children have access to,” she said. “I feel that is the parents’ job and not the government or the library’s job.”
Board Chair Ashley Herndon said the aim of a restricted and non-restricted card system was “very intentionally not trying to ban anything. … It’s just putting things in the place to allow the parents who do choose it such as myself, for example, to not have that accessible to my child.
“Those materials aren’t being banned from the library,” she continued. “They are still being ordered, they are still on the shelf. It’s just the placement of where that is out of the reach of minors … I’m excited to be able to allow my child to peruse and not have this particular concern regarding s--ual content.”
Some citizens complained about the content of books available in PRL libraries at a Board of Supervisors meeting in March 2023. Former PRL Director Tom Shepley argued that restricting access to books was contrary to First Amendment rights.
In August, the Tidewater Review found that some of the Pamunkey Regional Library books citizens complained about are no longer listed in the King William County library catalog. ... While the books remain on the PRL database, they are not available on the King William County library database.
Washington raised a concern from a member of the public who was unable to see policy documents that the board would be voting on ahead of the meeting. Local government experts shared that concern.
“The public is supposed to have access to copies of any materials the board members have been given. It’s supposed to be done at the same time,” said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, in an email last week.
More attacks on a public library in Florida. My friend did try to warn me decades ago about the wackos where she lived. I didn't believe her that people could be that horrid in this day and age- the 1990s.Rep. Berny Jacques calls on Largo commissioner to withdraw ‘radical leftist’ appointment to library board
https://flvoicenews.com/rep-berny-jac...
State Rep. Berny Jacques escalated his conflict with the Largo Public Library this week, publicly calling on a City Commissioner to withdraw the proposed appointment of an activist he identifies as a “radical leftist” to the Library Advocacy Board.
Jacques warned that the appointment would undermine recent local efforts to restrict controversial material in the children’s section of the library.
Jacques identified the recommended appointee as Eric Gerard, whom he said is the co-organizer of the local “No Kings Rally” and had previously opposed the removal of an “inappropriate book” from the children’s section. The appointment is set to be reviewed at the city commission meeting on Tuesday evening.
The lawmaker directed his appeal to Commissioner Curtis Holmes, urging him to correct what Jacques called an “unfortunate lapse” and to stop the appointment.
“I recently worked with the city to give this board more powers to remove inappropriate books, and some commissioners (Johnson and DiBrizzi) appointed new board members who will do the job well,” Jacques said.
“The Gerard appointment will go against everything we worked so hard for. Please contact our friend Commissioner Holmes and the others through the link below – tell them to stop the appointment of Eric Gerard!”
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Out of the Blue (other topics)The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink (other topics)
My Rainbow (other topics)
Butt or Face? Volume 3: Super Gross Butts (other topics)
The Day the Books Disappeared (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jodi Picoult (other topics)Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
Ellen Hopkins (other topics)
Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Scott Stuart (other topics)
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New Braunfels Independent School District reopens libraries, opens dashboard for parents to challenge library materials
https://communityimpact.com/san-anton...
The New Braunfels ISD board of trustees voted unanimously to lift the suspension of library services in its middle and high schools during a special board meeting Oct. 23.
Effective Oct. 27, libraries at secondary schools across NBISD will reopen. The decision came after two separate executive sessions held by trustees, bookending nearly an hour of public comment from parents and students.
Secondary school libraries were closed after a regular board meeting Oct. 13, as previously reported by Community Impact, pending a full review of over 50,000 titles that were available at some schools.
The review of the titles was prompted to ensure alignment with Senate Bill 13, which requires schools across the state to maintain transparent library catalogs, allowing parents to submit a list of books that their child is not allowed to access, according to the bill.
The district flagged 81 titles for review, including ‘A Game of Thrones’, ‘Red, White and Royal Blue’ and ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’, all of which are available to view by parents on an SB13 review page. [Ok those are adult books fair enough.]
Following a review of the titles, they will be marked as either compliant or noncompliant with SB13 by the district. Books found to be noncompliant will be removed from rotation at middle and high schools across the district, according to NBISD.
Nearly 50 Parents and students attended the public comment portion of the Oct. 23 meeting to speak to the board. Many of whom opposed the closure of libraries at the district’s middle and high schools, with a handful commending the board’s decision. Jude Necados, a high school student in NBISD, supported the decision, saying it’s a small price to pay for shielding students from inappropriate material.
...
Others opposed the closings. Kirstin May, a teacher at one of NBISD’s secondary schools, said her students were asking why the district felt the need to close libraries.
"My students were asking thoughtful, critical questions—exactly what our teams trained them to do. But right now they're learning a new lesson, that books are something to fear," May said.
Before making its decision, the board said its hands were tied when it came to being compliant with SB13. Trustee John Tucker said that even as a local, independent body, the board is still beholden to state laws.
“When the state legislature acts like it did, and has done with Senate Bill 13, we’re not independent; we are simply forced to follow it. Not what the legislature intended, but what they wrote,” Tucker said.
NBISD Board President Eric Bergquist noting the importance of feedback to the district.
“The board appreciates the thoughtful feedback from the community, and we understand how important our school libraries are to our students’ learning and success,” Bergquist said in a news release. “We’re grateful to have completed this preliminary step quickly so our secondary libraries can reopen while we continue our due diligence to meet the requirements of SB 13.”
Parents can still challenge additional titles through the district’s website, beginning with an informal review. If the concern is not resolved, the complainant may file a formal challenge using the district’s Library Materials Challenge Form.
A Library Materials Challenge Committee—made up of an administrator, a librarian, a teacher, and three parents—reviews the book in full and determines whether it complies with SB13, according to the district.