![\"Author](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Courtesy-Photo-Chris-Barton-.jpg\")
Author Chris Barton said he\u2019s visited hundreds of schools but never before had a district demand that he not speak about one of his works. Credit: Courtesy Photo \/ Chris Barton<\/p>\nAuthor Chris Barton said he\u2019s visited hundreds of schools but never before had a district demand that he not speak about one of his works. Credit: Courtesy Photo \/ Chris Barton<\/p>\n
Alamo Heights ISD parents are voicing anger after the district scrapped a visit by a children\u2019s author whose nonfiction book about the history of glitter and plastic was deemed too radical under Texas\u2019 anti-DEI law.<\/p>\n
The cancelation is just the latest disruption prompted by Republican-backed Texas Senate Bill 12, which has wreaked havoc for public education from the elementary school through the university level.<\/p>\n
Austin-based writer Chris Barton was invited to speak to 1,600 students at Alamo Heights ISD\u2019s Cambridge and Woodbridge elementary schools this month. Although he\u2019d visited the district in 2018 to rave reviews from parents and students, officials put the brakes on this year\u2019s trip after three parents complained about his book Glitter Everywhere! Where It Came From, Where It\u2019s Found & Where It\u2019s Going.<\/p>\n
Barton\u2019s book gives a detailed history of the origins of the sparkly substance, the science behind it and the environmental impact of microplastics. He\u2019s not alone in his concern over microplastics, since studies suggest humans consume the equivalent of one credit card per week of the material, which has infiltrated food and drink supplies globally.<\/p>\n
However, those environmental concerns weren\u2019t what got Barton crossways with SB 12. Instead, one sentence in the 52-page book, although historically accurate, triggered concern from Alamo Heights ISD officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sentence is found on page 33, where Barton writes \u201cto signal the welcoming of LGBTQ+ worshippers, some congregations now offer a mix of ashes and purple glitter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy concern is not about this isolated incident,\u201d said Erik Anderson, an Alamo Heights parent whose child was looking forward to meeting Barton. \u201cIt is a concern that my child\u2019s education will be repeatedly shaped by a district seeking to go beyond already restrictive legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minority rule<\/p>\n
In an emailed statement, Alamo Heights ISD confirmed Barton was scheduled to sell and sign five books as part of his presentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Barton visited in 2018,\u201d department spokeswoman Julie Ann Matonis. \u201cIt was a great experience for our students, and we were looking forward to it again this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, those plans were put on hold after three parents emailed principals at their respective campuses to inquire about the phrase \u201cLGBTQ+\u201d appearing in Glitter Everywhere!, Matonis said. The author hadn\u2019t planned to discuss that book or bring it with him, she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of planning coordination, we told Mr. Barton about the relevant TEC 11.005 prohibition, cited above, and explained that we didn\u2019t see any issues with the plan for his visit and asked him to provide assurances he would not refer to gender identity, sexual orientation or his book that has the term \u2018LGBTQ+\u2019 on one of the pages, which would be a violation of this new law,\u201d Matonis said. \u201cHe refused to agree to those assurances.\u201d<\/p>\n
On his website, Barton said even though Glitter Everywhere! wasn\u2019t one of the five books selected by the two elementary schools as part of his planned presentation, he planned to give it a quick mention as an example of how he spurs his research and nonfiction writing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should add, though, that when students have questions about my work, I answer those honestly,\u201d Barton wrote in his retelling of the events involving Alamo Heights ISD. \u201cSo, for instance, should students ask during Q+A which is my most recent nonfiction book, or which book of mine required the most research, my reply would be Glitter Everywhere!\u201d<\/p>\n
Barton told the Current that to save face and complete his visits to the Alamo Heights schools \u2014 one of the key ways authors build sales \u2014 he could have avoided any mention of Glitter Everywhere! and declined to acknowledge it during questions. But that would have gone against his principles, which include \u201cnot lying to children through omission.\u201d<\/p>\n
Out of the hundreds of schools Barton\u2019s visited during his 25 years as an author, he\u2019s never before had a district demand that he not speak about his work. Indeed, he gave a full presentation on Glitter Everywhere! to 400 elementary school students at Granbury ISD last month, ground zero for Texas\u2019 crusade against LGBTQ+ material in school libraries. Yet, not a single parent aired concerns about it.<\/p>\n
Although upset about the cancellation, some Alamo Heights ISD parents told the Current understand the district\u2019s position on the matter.<\/p>\n
Still, the parents said they were never given an explanation for Barton\u2019s visit being canned. The reason only came to light via his blog post and freedom of information requests filed with the district.<\/p>\n
Anderson called the district\u2019s reasoning \u201cabsurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d very much understand if an author would not commit to not bringing up LGBTQ+ issues in a talk to elementary school students,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cBut to ask an author not to mention that they\u2019ve written a book about glitter, simply because in that book there happens to be a mention of LGBTQ+ individuals?\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Even](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Charlesbridge-Publishing-.jpg\")
Even though Glitter Everywhere! wasn\u2019t one of the five books Barton was scheduled to discuss, its mere mention of LGBTQ+ people became an issue. Credit: Charlesbridge Publishing<\/p>\n
Others were more sympathetic to the district\u2019s situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the current political environment where universities are losing huge amounts of funding and they\u2019re facing these really costly lawsuits, I feel like [Alamo Heights ISD] acted out of the sense of they didn\u2019t want a lot of upheaval for the staff or the students in case there was some sort of catastrophic response from [Texas Attorney General] Ken Paxton,\u201d said one parent, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution from the district, the state and her employer.<\/p>\n
Even so, the same parent is upset about the state\u2019s DEI ban. They also said they\u2019re still trying to figure out whose responsibility it is to \u201crebel\u201d against the anti-free speech measure signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it up to the school to rebel against the state and face these vast consequences for staff and students?\u201d the parent pondered. \u201cWe do need to stand up, but how do we do that in a way that does not result in these huge upheavals?\u201d<\/p>\n
Academic freedom under attacke<\/p>\n
Alamo Heights\u2019 decision to cancel Barton\u2019s visit is only the latest in a slew of alarming stories to emerge since Abbott signed SB 12 into law on Sept. 1.<\/p>\n
This week, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued a statement describing Texas A&M University as \u201cnot a serious institution\u201d after the school demanded that a philosophy professor remove works by Greek philosopher Plato from his syllabus because they promoted \u201crace and gender ideology.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prior to the censorship incident, U.S. News & World Report ranked Texas A&M as the nation\u2019s 51st-best university.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCensoring Plato is an academic absurdity and a textbook violation of academic freedom,\u201d the AAUP said in its statement. \u201cBarring a foundational philosopher who is a cornerstone of Western thought because his work touches on race or gender is a blatant attempt at thought policing that will not survive legal scrutiny. This is a direct attack on professional integrity and a clear-cut breach of constitutionally protected academic freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concerns about academic freedom also about at the University of Texas at Austin, the flagship campus of the UT system and another nationally ranked school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a recently survey by campus newspaper the Daily Texan, 60% of the school\u2019s 437 responding faculty members said they have considered leaving the school due to Senate Bill 37. That bill further restricts academic freedom by directing state universities to increase curriculum oversight and restructure their faculty councils.<\/p>\n
During a recent New Braunfels stop on his U.S. Senate campaign, State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, cautioned that Texas Republicans\u2019 efforts to keep ideas they don\u2019t like out of schools is already damaging its colleges and universities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of our most talented, most qualified faculty members have left the state of Texas,\u201d said Talarico, one the Legislature\u2019s most vocal opponents of book bans and anti-DEI measures. \u201cMany of our colleges want to recruit the best and brightest to come teach here in Texas, and they can\u2019t get them because of this extremism from our state government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even so, the parents at Alamo Heights ISD said they aren\u2019t giving up yet and pulling their kids from the district due to oversteps by Texas lawmakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not leaving,\u201d one parent told the Current. \u201cI feel like Alamo Heights is a really good school district in the sense of kindness and inclusivity. The teachers are great. My children are happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the parent cautioned that parents need to stand up before matters get worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we should monitor things happening not just in Texas, but everywhere, and we need to think about ways to push back against these DEI bans. I don\u2019t know what the answer is, but I think about this issue every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tThe conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing the case after a federal judge in the Alamo City ruled Texas\u2019 law violates the U.S. Constitution. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Appeals](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768932251_412_Ten-Commandments.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2025-10-24-at-10.22.26-AM.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Reddit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ICE_ERO_Dallas_Targeted_Enforcement_Operation.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n