Texas schools will see library updates as Senate Bill 13 becomes law, giving parents more access and input on reading materials.

TEXAS, USA — Parents across Texas will start to see changes in school libraries under Senate Bill 13, which is now law. The bill gives families more access to library catalogs and more say in what their children are reading.

Ector County ISD Director of Digital Learning Jessica Dominguez said the district was already prepared.

“There’s been no big change for us. We’ve already had a process in place. The only big change that we had to think about and prepare for was the 30-day review process,” Dominguez said.

For ECISD, the biggest shift is that the school board, not staff, will now have the final say on new books.

“The only big piece is that the school board will have to approve all books that are new to the district. So yes, so we had to talk about. When are they going to do that? How often are we going to do it?” Dominguez said.

The law also makes catalogs public and allows parents to block certain titles for their children. ECISD said the tool is already built into its online system, and if a student tries to check out a restricted book, the librarian is notified.

Nationwide, books like All Boys Aren’t Blue, Gender Queer, and The Bluest Eye are among the most frequently challenged for explicit content or sensitive themes. Even classics like To Kill a Mockingbird have been questioned for racial language.

On Facebook, some parents expressed concerns about how the law might work. One asked, “If a history book was called inappropriate, would it also be banned?” Another worried about staffing, writing, “Are schools hiring more library aides, or just adding to teachers’ plates?”

Dominguez encourages parents to stay involved.

“Parents do have the option to call their school and talk to their librarian… and there is a feature in our library management system where parents can give a list of books that they don’t want their child to check out,” she said.

ECISD has also launched a district library page where families can browse the catalog, see which books are under review and ask questions directly. Dominguez said the page is meant to make the process more transparent.