Don't Mess With Texas Libraries

The Texas Freedom to Read Project shares what to expect with SB 13 and how to stand up to censorship in your community.

Imagine your state legislators working overtime, straight through a holiday weekend, to pass legislation that makes it harder for public schools to purchase library books. Recently passed by the Texas State Legislature, Senate Bill 13 (SB 13) does just that - and is only the latest attempt in a statewide battle for the freedom to read.

Texas residents Anne Russey, Laney Hawes, and Frank Strong are no strangers to these attempts. The three of them connected after finding themselves in the same conversations on Twitter, realizing this was a growing problem. “When I saw this starting to happen in districts around the state, I knew this was going to spread,” said Strong. “What happens in one district, doesn’t just stay in that district.”

Hawes described the moment they decided to step up further. “We were thinking, who is going to save us? It was just that moment where the three of us were like, oh, it’s us. We’re the parents in these districts and we need to be the ones to take care of it.”

With support from PEN America, EveryLibrary and The Florida Freedom to Read Project, they launched their own statewide organization in 2023 dedicated to fighting against censorship and preserving students rights in Texas. Together, they serve as Co-Directors of the The Texas Freedom to Read Project.

We spoke with the three of them to learn more about the impact SB 13 will have on Texas school libraries and get their advice on how parents can push back on censorship in communities nationwide.

What To Expect with Texas SB 13

The effort to ban books and censor information is on the rise across the country but SB 13 takes it to a new level. “It's not going to just keep ‘bad’ books out of schools, it's going to keep all books out of schools,” says Hawes.

SB 13 establishes that all public school library materials must be approved by the district’s Board of Trustees, shifting the authority over school library catalogs from professional librarians to elected officials. What’s more, if at least 50 parents in the district or 10% of the student population (whichever is fewer) petition the board, they must appoint a local School Library Advisory Council. This council would also have approval authority over library materials and could remove books they deem indecent, profane, or inconsistent with local community values.

If those criteria sound vague, you’re right. How each school district interprets this information will lead to major inconsistencies statewide. “There's nothing in this law to keep whoever is in the position of power in our districts from saying ‘that book can't be in our libraries because it’s inconsistent with our community values."

Russey points out that books like Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn by Shannon Hale and Freddie The Farting Snowman by Jane Bexley have already been challenged in her district. She’s worried that books about the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and other underrepresented groups will be further targeted with the new criteria. “Our communities in Texas are incredibly diverse and inclusive and you can't say that certain people don't fit with community values,” says Russey.

One of the group’s biggest concerns with SB 13 is the impact these approvals will have on the ability to purchase new library books. “They would have to approve every single title that a school district buys” says Hawes. “My children’s school district has a similar policy and we just went 16 months without buying one new title because it's caught up in this process. It's impractical.” Strong adds that “for a lot of administrators and districts around the state, it just becomes easier to not deal with library books.”

SB 13 is complicated and convoluted, and it’s intended to be. Watch the Texas Freedom to Read Project break it down further and keep reading after the video to learn more about what you can do in your community, even if you don’t live in Texas.

Stopping Censorship in Your Community

“The push to ban books is being done under the guise of parents' rights. When we talk to parents of public school students in Texas, they mostly don't know the extent of what is happening because it's not a parent's movement” says Russey. Hawes adds, “Parents are busy parenting. They aren’t deep in it because it’s not what they’re facing day to day. This is not what communities want, but it’s what political movements have been successful in doing.”

These political groups are only as successful as we allow them to be. Even if you live in a state where freedom to read laws have been passed, there are groups that are actively trying to find ways around it. So what can you do about it?

A good place to start is at your local school board meeting. “Part of the reason it’s gone beyond the local school boards is because it was always intended to, right? The school boards were the testing ground for these ideas,” says Strong.

School board meetings are often livestreamed so you can start by watching remotely. If you can manage it, going in person also helps so that Trustees know the public is engaged. As Russey points out, “If no public members show up to observe the meetings, then they feel like no one is watching and sometimes they do more shady things.”

If you’re a Texas resident, it’s not too late to take action on SB 13. The new law takes effect on September 1st, which means school boards will be voting on the adoption of the Library Materials EFB Local policy update over the next few weeks. Establishing a library review board is optional and you can advocate for your school board to adopt the policy update without it. If your district does form a review board, you can volunteer to be on it.

Want to have an even bigger impact? The filing period to run for Texas school board for this next election ends on August 18th. Many races see candidates running unopposed and that can leave the door open for more extreme candidates and policies to come to your school board.

If you’re worried that you don’t have the experience to do some of these things, we’re here to tell you to keep going. Russey, Hawes, and Strong all started as individuals who cared enough to get started and they learned how to effectively organize along the way. “We are begging parents to step up and get involved, even if they think it might not happen where they are. We exist to say, we will teach you how to do this, but we need you to do it in your own community.”

We’ll be sharing more insights from The Texas Freedom to Read Project across social media over the next couple of weeks including more advice for getting involved in your local community. Follow along on Instagram, Tiktok, or Bluesky to see more.

To keep up with the latest news from The Texas Freedom to Read Project and future calls to action, visit their website.