{"id":218046,"date":"2026-03-24T13:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/218046\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:12:16","slug":"new-braunfels-isd-bans-books-written-by-obama-shakespeare-and-matthew-mcconaughey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/218046\/","title":{"rendered":"New Braunfels ISD bans books written by Obama, Shakespeare and Matthew McConaughey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"President Barrack Obama\u2019s memoir A Promised Land is just one of more than 1,500 books ripped of the shelves of New Braunfels ISD in recent months. Credit: Wikimedia Commons \/ vargas2040<\/p>\n

Texas\u2019 Republican-backed book banning law, Senate Bill 13, is rearing its head in the San Antonio suburb of New Braunfels this month as the school district there pulled more than 1,500 titles from school library shelves.<\/p>\n

Some of those books subjected to New Braunfels ISD\u2019s ban include memoirs by former President Barack Obama and Texas actor Matthew McConaughey along with classic works by William Shakespeare.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the district has either removed, restricted or \u201caged-up\u201d more than 800 books from its middle schools, 600 from its high schools and some 60 from its elementary schools since SB 13 took effect in September, according to public information requests<\/a> submitted by the Texas Freedom to Read Project.<\/p>\n

New Braunfels ISD didn\u2019t immediately respond to the Current\u2019s request for comment on the reasoning why so many books were deemed inappropriate for its students. <\/p>\n

Passed during the 2025 legislative session, SB 13 ordered all public school libraries to review books for \u201cprofane\u201d or \u201cindecent\u201d content. It also mandates the immediate removal of books challenged by concerned parents while those materials are under review, it empowers school boards to oversee library materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis overly aggressive removal of books \u2014\u00a0based on a vague law that should never have been passed in the first place \u2014 is undermining education and the freedom to read in Texas,\u201d free-speech group PEN America\u2019s Sy Syms Managing Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs Jonathan Friedman said in a statement.<\/p>\n

SB 13 grabbed San Antonio-area headlines in January<\/a> after Alamo Heights ISD cancelled the visit of a children\u2019s author because three parents complained that one of his books, which wasn\u2019t even scheduled for discussion during his visit, acknowledged the existence of the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

Purging the classics<\/p>\n

As part of New Braunfels ISD\u2019s purge, administrators didn\u2019t just targeted President Obama\u2019s memoir, but those of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, citing \u201cadult\u201d content.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, classics including Miguel Cervantes\u2019 Don Quixote, Jane Austin\u2019s Pride and Prejudice and John Steinbeck\u2019s The Grapes of Wrath were placed in district\u2019s libraries \u201crestricted section,\u201d meaning they\u2019re only available to students enrolled in AP Lit.<\/p>\n

McConaughey, Tennessee Williams and Walt Whitman remain under review. At the same time, Shakespeare\u2019s classics, including Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Hamlet, were deemed too risqu\u00e9 for middle schoolers.<\/p>\n

New Braunfels ISD\u2019s book-banning measures first drew media attention in November<\/a>, when the San Antonio Express-News reported that the district was using an AI service called \u201cBookmarked\u201d to flag reading materials that weren\u2019t SB 13-compliant.<\/p>\n

\u2018Transparent process\u2019<\/p>\n

The committee assigned to review the flagged books reportedly consists<\/a> of a retired educator and a retired librarian.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, it\u2019s embarrassing for our state to be telling my children and the rest of the rising generation of 5.5 million Texas public school students they can\u2019t read classic books, or true biographies of our country\u2019s athletes, actors, presidents in our schools,\u201d Texas Freedom to Read Project co-founder Laney Hawes said in a statement.<\/p>\n

In a message to parents <\/a>posted on its website last week, New Braunfels ISD confirmed that \u201cinternal review tools\u201d and \u201cthird-party vendor resources\u201d are being used to identify unsavory books for further review.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the review is complete, each book will be designated as either SB 13 Compliant or SB 13 Non-Compliant,\u201d the district wrote. \u201cThis transparent process ensures that our district libraries continue to provide materials that support learning while adhering to state law and community expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district also reminded parents they will be able to appeal the removal of any book.<\/p>\n

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