The Texas House of Representatives has advanced a bill that would give a school board and parents control over school library material. Senate Bill 13 would also allow for the creation of advisory councils, if at least 20% of parents in a school district sign a petition to do so. The Texas Senate approved a similar proposal in the previous legislative session but did not get a vote on the House floor in 2023.
Parents, teachers and community members will make up the advisory councils, to help decide which books should or shouldn’t be allowed. According to a report by Texas Public Radio and the nonprofit Texas Tribune, it is a process that could result in a book being banned. School boards will have 90 days after complaints on each are filed to reach a decision.
But Representative Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, opposed SB 13. “SB 13 gives a handpicked group of people one a district-wide council the power to cancel culture, censor curiosity, and control what every kid can read.”
SB 13 would build upon a law passed in 2023, House Bill 900, which had the stated intent of keeping sexually explicit content off school bookshelves. According to PEN America, an agency that tracks book bans in the U.S., Texas banned roughly 540 books in public school libraries in the 2023-24 academic school year. Of those banned books, a Pen America study revealed that 44% included characters or people of color and 39% included LGBTQ+ characters.
SB 13 would also take books out of circulation during a challenge. The Texas Senate must give final approval before the measure heads to Governor Greg Abbott – for his signature.
