Harmful materials subject to removal are defined as \u201cpervasively vulgar, educationally unsuitable, indecent content or profane content\u201d in SB 13.<\/p>\n
Sen. Brent Hagenbuch<\/a> (R\u2013Denton) said that while developing the law, lawmakers thought that \u201crather than require a complete, exhaustive review, we\u2019re going to rely on local people. Parents can have access to the library. They can challenge books.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet parents have complained that despite the law, school districts are keeping explicit materials available to students.<\/p>\n However, Von Byer, general counsel for Texas Education Agency (TEA), noted that the wording of SB 13 prohibits the possession, acquisition, and purchase of harmful materials.<\/p>\n Byer clarified that schools must comply with SB 13 for both new and existing books.<\/p>\n \u201cSchool districts would not be in compliance with the law if they possessed those books even before the law was put in place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Citizens for Education Reform founder Susan Perez asked lawmakers \u201cWhose responsibility is it? Because Senate Bill 13 says the district cannot possess the sexually explicit books, and the schools that we are familiar with are waiting until a book is challenged before they even look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n Shannon Ayers with Citizens Defending Freedom said, \u201cParents are still finding profane and indecent content in school libraries, and they\u2019re being forced to challenge books that should never have been there in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephen Lara, a leader of the Lubbock Turning Point USA chapter, said, \u201cWe have identified over 1,000 books in Lubbock ISD libraries that contain harmful and inappropriate material accessible to minors, and some of this material is so incredibly vile that they\u2019re actually banned from TDCJ. And yet, despite bringing these major concerns directly to the school board, these books have remained available to minors.\u201d<\/p>\n The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) maintains a list<\/a> of sexually explicit materials banned from state prisons. Parents have found books from the TDCJ list in children\u2019s school libraries.<\/p>\n Jesse Levis, founder and principal analyst for Library Census, said the company found \u201cTrue erotica. Think BDSM, bestiality, blood play, depictions of coerced zombie porn, and more\u201d in school libraries.<\/p>\n Yet Ayers noted that despite these findings, there are still questions regarding the clarity and implementation of the law. \u201cLegal counsel at one district even suggested that there was enough ambiguity in SB 13 that the district was unlikely to face consequences for approving books containing profane and indecent content.\u201d<\/p>\n Witnesses said they have had difficulties with challenging library materials and in the original vetting process.<\/p>\n SB 13 requires<\/a> that parents have access to the library catalog and a library material challenge process.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reconsideration form is now in the middle of a parent information paragraph. \u2026 It took me 10 minutes to find it, and I\u2019m very familiar with the website,\u201d said Perez.<\/p>\n According to Levis, 28 percent of districts have no public catalog. \u201cMany districts that say they\u2019re in compliance still have not audited their full catalog, and many aren\u2019t fully vetting new books for purchase,\u201d said Levis.<\/p>\n Ayers shared an example in Frisco ISD, in which the approval board was given a proposed purchase list of almost 4,000 titles and only two weeks for review. Ayers said they \u201crubber-stamped\u201d the list for approval.<\/p>\n Perez said that \u201cLubbock purchased 13,000 books this year. I never saw when that was available, and 30 days is not enough time for the public to observe that. I would recommend that it be from October to February.\u201d<\/p>\n Witnesses also noted the needs for additional clarity in SB 13.<\/p>\n \u201cSenate Bill 13 didn\u2019t quite clarify that if it has indecent passages, or if it has profanity throughout, or grossly profane, as in the definition, it needs to be removed. It doesn\u2019t matter what the rest of the book says, but that\u2019s not real clear,\u201d said Perez.<\/p>\n
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