Fort Worth ISD libraries on all school campuses will remain closed until Aug. 25 so libraries can complete inventory ahead of a new law that requires a rating system and bans some books and other materials deemed sexually inappropriate, a district spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.
Communications coordinator Jessica Becerra said the closure will give library staff time to make sure all physical materials available online are stocked for the school year and ensure the district is in compliance with House Bill 900.
The new law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 13, requires vendors that sell books or other material to public school libraries in Texas to rate “sexually explicit” material. According to the law’s text, sexually explicit material “describes, depicts, or portrays sexual conduct in a way that is patently offensive,” which is prohibited from school libraries.
The law doesn't go into effect until Sept. 1.
“We're being proactive to make sure we can start fresh and what needs to be in there is in there, and what isn’t, isn’t,” Becerra said.
Students who want to check out school library material marked “sexually relevant” — which the law defines as anything portraying sexual conduct — must have written consent from their parent or guardian.
If parents or guardians want certain material removed for all students, they can go through a formal process listed in district board policy.
Last month, Fort Worth ISD removed three books dealing with gender identity and sexuality from elementary and middle school libraries.
The district didn’t confirm whether any books would be removed in this inventory, but it comes after several parents and Fort Worth residents at a July 25 meeting demanded the removal of library books they said were sexually inappropriate for students.
The language in HB 900 and similar pieces of legislation has been criticized for targeting LGBTQ+ people and people of color.
Kasey Meehan is the program director of Freedom to Read at PEN America, an organization that voiced support for an Austin bookstore in its lawsuit against Texas for HB 900. She said like legislation in Missouri and other states, the focus on marginalized communities seems intentional.
"We know the way in which those terms have been conflated to then pull out books that are overwhelmingly featuring LGBTQ+ identities or featuring characters of color or talking about race and racism," Meehan said.
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