TEXAS — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced last month that he will try to remove what he deems inappropriate books from school libraries.

His message was clear and simple at an Aug. 19 news conference.

“We’re coming for the books,” Patrick said.

Patrick said this latest effort comes after school districts were not following the law — Senate Bill 13 — which called for districts to create more transparency over what books are in their schools’ catalogs.

Patrick said over 2,000 titles are subject to removal. If the districts choose not to remove the books, Patrick said he will urge the Legislature to consider another law that, if passed, could mean some districts could be taken over by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

“We will pass a law that will knock your grade letter down one. So, if you’re an A school, you’ll be a B. If you’re a B, you’ll be a C. If you’re a C, you’ll be a D, and an F, you can’t get lower than that. Maybe that’s why you’re an F school if you have these in your library.”

Among the 2,000 titles was “Let’s Talk About It” by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, a sex education book created for teenagers.

“So filthy, so dirty, so vulgar, so pornographic, and for the ladies here, I wouldn’t even want to show you,” Patrick said.

Bonnie Wallace of the religious values-based group Recover America provided a list of 14 school districts in Texas that have the book. Spectrum News was able to independently verify that at least 12 of the districts have the book, including in some of the state’s major metro areas like Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, as well as McAllen, Killeen and Galveston.

Wallace walked through the book, highlighting pages of concern, including discussions of pornography and exploring sexual self-pleasure.

“If you go to page 164, it tells you the internet is a safe place to research kinks and fantasies,” Wallace said.

There are other pages, though, that discuss contraceptives, sexually transmitted diseases and signs of an abusive relationship. Despite the variety of topics covered in the book, Wallace doesn’t believe taxpayer dollars should go toward its circulation in Texas schools.

“I think we need a little bit more discernment on what we’re placing in the libraries,” Wallace said.

Spectrum News asked Texans in Austin about the book, which is one of the districts that carries it. Here’s a summary of some comments they gave.

“I looked at the first page, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, what are we doing?’ … I was not expecting that this morning,” said one person on a downtown Austin street.

“I mean, would you want your daughter to read this, or your son who’s 13? Would you like that?” another person asked.

“I don’t think it should be in schools,” said another.

“It’s important to talk about it. This is obviously human parts. It’s not something that should be so taboo, but it is,” said one woman.

Other people in Austin said it should be the parents’ decision on what is brought into schools, while another person said it should be up to the students.

“Kids have access to a ton of different things. We need to be better about limiting their access to those things, and I feel like limiting access to this book can be a start,” said another person in Austin.

The lieutenant governor said he is giving districts until the beginning of the next legislative session in January to remove the books before he drafts his proposed law that would drop districts’ accountability ratings.