Texas bill would allow parents to block students from certain school library books
FILE - Books on a shelf in an elementary school library.
AUSTIN, Texas - A bill filed in the Texas Senate Wednesday would allow parents to review materials at their child's school and create a list of items that cannot be checked out or used by that child.
The bill would require school libraries to give parents a list of books and other items that have been checked out by their child.
Local perspective:
Senate Bill 13 was filed by Sen. Angela Paxton Wednesday.
It would allow parents to obtain a written record of all materials checked out from the library where their child attends school. The provision would extend to public schools and public charter schools.
The bill would add definitions for "harmful content," "indecent content" and "profane content."
READ MORE: Texas Senate passes SB2, would allow parents to use tax funds for private schools
Under SB13, parents would be allowed to review the materials in their child's school library, either online or in-person, and create a list of items that cannot be checked out or used by the student.
School Library Advisory Council
Among the major changes that SB13 would bring is the creation of local school advisory councils to "assist the district in ensuring that local community values are reflected in each school library catalog in the district."
The members of the council would be appointed by the district's board of trustees and a majority of the members would be parents of students in the district but not district employees.
The council is allowed to have non-voting members who are teachers or librarians employed by the district, district students, businesses or clergy.
Districts would be required to consider the council's recommendations before adding or removing books and making changes to policies or guidelines.
The bill would also allow for public challenges to materials in school libraries. Any challenges would have to come from a parent or guardian of a student in the district, a district employee or a person who lives in the district.
Priority Bills
The bill is one of 25 pieces of legislation that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tagged as a priority bill.
Patrick said he would expand the list to 40 bills soon.
Featured
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls on House to pass bail reform package
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday called on the Texas House to pass a series of bills designed to reform the state's bail system for violent offenders.
Dig deeper:
- Senate Bill 1 – Senate’s Budget for Texas
- Senate Bill 2 – Providing School Choice
- Senate Bill 3 – Banning THC in Texas
- Senate Bill 4 – Increasing the Homestead Exemption to $140,000 ($150,000 for seniors)
- Senate Bill 5 – Combatting Alzheimer’s – Establishing DPRIT (Dementia Prevention & Research Institute of Texas)
- Senate Bill 6 – Increasing Texas’ Electric Grid Reliability
- Senate Bill 7 – Increasing Investments in Texas’ Water Supply
- Senate Bill 8 – Requiring Local Law Enforcement to Assist the Federal Government’s Deportation Efforts
- Senate Bill 9 – Reforming Bail – Keeping Violent Criminals Off Our Streets
- Senate Bill 10 – Placing the Ten Commandments in School
- Senate Bill 11 – Protecting the Freedom to Pray in School
- Senate Bill 12 – Establishing a Parental Bill of Rights in Public Education
- Senate Bill 13 – Guarding Against Inappropriate Books in Public Schools
- Senate Bill 14 – Texas DOGE – Improving Government Efficiency
- Senate Bill 15 – Removing Barriers to Affordable Housing
- Senate Bill 16 – Stopping Non-Citizens from Voting
- Senate Bill 17 – Stopping Foreign Adversaries’ Land Grabs
- Senate Bill 18 – Stopping Drag Time Story Hour
- Senate Bill 19 – Stopping Taxpayer Dollars for Lobbyists
- Senate Bill 20 – Stopping AI Child Pornography
- Senate Bill 21 – Establishing the Texas Bitcoin Reserve
- Senate Bill 22 – Establishing Texas as America’s Film Capital
- Senate Bill 23 – Removing the Cap on the Rainy Day Fund to Secure Texas’ Long-term Financial Future
- Senate Bill 24 – Educating Texas Students on the Horrors of Communism
- Senate Bill 25 – Making Texas Healthy Again
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Texas legislature and previous FOX reporting.