Book Bans Have No Place in Texas
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Texas politicians want to control what Texas students read.
Book bans across Texas have targeted LGBTQ+ students, Black students, and many more, and this session, Texas leadership has prioritized bills that will create even more ways for a small handful of Texans to ban books for entire schools and communities.
Together we can raise our voices and tell the Texas legislature that students deserve the freedom to learn.
Here are the major book ban bills prioritized by Texas leadership, and what they would do:
SB 13
- Create surveillance of students’ library records;
- Impose a statewide collection development policy without oversight or input from local school districts;
- Create unelected and untrained library advisory councils with the power to recommend books to purchase or ban;
- Mandate that school board members approve every book purchased by a school library; and
- Make it easier for a single person to ban a book for all students in a school.
HB 900
- Create surveillance of students’ library records;
- Ban books based on vague, overbroad standards that have been used to target LGBTQ+ stories and students;
- Allow third-party vendors to decide what books are appropriate for Texas students, instead of school librarians, families, and students; and
- Give the Texas Education Agency overarching power to ban books with no public accountability.
Here’s some additional information about how this bill hurts us that you can use in your message:
- Book bans target LGBTQ+, Black, and other marginalized students. Among the books removed from schools from July 2021 to June 2022, books featuring LGBTQ+ characters made up 41% of the list, books featuring characters of color made up 40%, and books tackling race and racism made up 21%.
- Book bans hurt vulnerable students who need resources. Every week, four Texas children die of abuse or neglect. When children don’t have a safe place at home, books may be the first place students can find the language to describe what’s happening to them and ask for help.
- We should trust & support local experts. Book bans have intensified the chilling effect leading to teacher shortages. We should instead be trusting librarians, teachers, parents, and students together to identify books that fit their communities’ interests and needs.