Update and Call to Action: HB 900, bill to ban porn in school libraries being considered today
HB 900 - Click the button above to use Grassroots America’s single-email service to contact Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Senate Education Committee members immediately. Tell them that we want HB 900 voted out and set for Senate floor vote with NO amendments to vendor enforcement!
May 15, 2023 | Austin, TX
May 17 UPDATE: A watered down version of HB 900 is being heard in the Education committee today. This bill would have provided a reasonable solution to the problem of pornographic materials in our children’s schools but has been amended to put the matter in the hands of Texas education bureaucrats.
Following are the changes to HB 900 that were agreed to in the Senate Education Committee. Most prominently, the State Board of Education will come up with the standards to be used in evaluating books in school libraries and the Texas Education Administration will issue a rating for materials under review.
TEA may have an advisory committee to help with the ratings, but no information is included about who will make up that committee.
Notably, the publishers and the authors of the materials may appeal the rating decisions. Parents and constituents appear to have no such consideration and the appeal decisions are final.
What do you think? Has the Texas Legislature done all that they can to protect our children from pornography in our schools?
The SBOE shall adopt standards for rating library materials, as guided by the standards for review that were already in the bill.
The TEA Commissioner shall issue a rating to library materials submitted for review.
The commissioner may contract for assistance in the review and rating process
The commissioner may convene an advisory committee to assist.
Anyone – including parents, district and charter employees, vendors, and publishers – can submit a library material for a rating.
TEA shall maintain a list of the library materials that have been reviewed, with their ratings, conspicuously online.
TEA will notify districts and charters of any library materials that the commissioner rates as sexually relevant or sexually explicit, including the duties of the district in response to the rating.
Before knowingly selling library material to a district or charter, vendors shall ensure that any material rated as sexually relevant are labeled accordingly (either by conspicuously affixing a label or if the material already has its rating printed on the material)
The commissioner shall notify the publisher of origin of reviewed library material of the material’s rating.
The publisher or the author of library material may appeal the rating to the SBOE. SBOE appeal decisions are by majority vote and are final.
Library materials rated as sexually explicit may not be:
Checked out or otherwise used by a student from the school library
Sold to a district or charter
In a classroom library
The commissioner may prohibit districts and charters from purchasing from a vendor if the commissioner determines that the vendor has willfully distributing library materials that have been rated as sexually explicit to districts/charters.
Amends the liability protections language to reflect the updated rating process: district and charter employees are not liable for any claim or damage resulting from the unintentional violation of this chapter or if the violation was remedied after the district/charter becomes aware of the violation.
Parental right to access their child’s library check out record
Opt-in opportunity for parental notice of when their child checks out books
Local School Library Advisory Councils
Clarifying language that librarians, not the Council, still provide proposed procurement lists
If the school district determines to remove a library material, the district shall notify teachers of the decision in case they have a copy of the library material in their classroom libraries.
Added language from the library standards in SB 13 to the requirements for the mandatory library standards
Changed implementation timeline to align with HB 900
Changes to the School Districts’ Reports
Instead of reviewing every sexually relevant book, the district must post a report every two years of:
The title and reconsideration decision for every library material that the Local School Library Advisory Council has reviewed
Library materials rated as sexually relevant
The campuses at which these materials are located
TAKE ACTION
HB 900 - Use Grassroots America’s single-email service to contact Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Senate Education Committee members immediately. Tell them that we want HB 900 voted out and set for Senate floor vote with NO amendments to vendor enforcement!
Original May 15 Post:
There are only two weeks left in this Texas legislative session and one of the primary bills on our GOP priorities list needs a push to get it over the finish line. HB 900 by Representative Jared Patterson of District 106 passed the House close to a month ago and has since languished in the Senate Education Committee, where it finally received a hearing on Thursday.
If you care about sexually explicit books being offered to your children in their schools, now would be the time to apply pressure to members of the Senate Education Committee to report the bill favorably out of committee, so it can receive a vote on the Senate floor, before it’s too late for this session.
Do not believe the opponents of this bill that say this is about book banning or freedom of speech. We have always protected our children from corrupting influences. I have seen many examples of the materials currently available in our school libraries. If you are unsure of what we are dealing with, send me a message and I will share an example. This is serious.
Contact: Bonnie Lyons, Legislative Committee Chair, info@mctxgop.org.
Brandon Creighton
(512) 463-0104 (Austin Office)
(281) 292-4128 (District Office)
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Lois Kolkhorst
(512) 463-0118 (Austin Office)
(979) 251-7888 (District Office)
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Paul Bettencourt
(512) 463-0107 (Austin Office)
(713) 464-0282 (District Office)
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