Texas education board removes “sexually explicit” books from school libraries to protect children from inappropriate material.
By Eileen Griffin
The state of Texas has removed books from school libraries that the education board deems inappropriate for children.
After a long battle over the books allowed in the school libraries, the State Board of Education created new rules to protect children from offensive material, The Dallas Morning News reports.
Parents led the effort to remove those books they did not want their children exposed to. Conservative politicians joined them in calling for a crackdown.
State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) was one of those speaking up in support of parents.
“The materials I personally fought are outrageous and so explicit in nature that news programs could not even show the images on screen or read the passages over the radio due to FCC standards,” Patterson said in his letter to the school board as reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Approximately 800 books have already been removed from Texas libraries. Most of the books removed are about race or sexuality and gender.
The new rules make it clear that vulgar and obscene material will no longer be allowed in the public school libraries. It also directs schools to communicate with parents about books available to children.
Recently, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission dissolved their relationship with the American Library Association (ALA), The Federalist reports. The association has become known as a far-left organization pushing the radical agenda in the nation’s government-run schools.
Concerns mounted about the ALA when their newly elected President, Emily Drabinski, described herself as a, “Marxist Lesbian,” The Federalist reported at the time.
“Drabinski posts openly on her Twitter feed in support of sexually exposing children, union-led political strife, socialist politicians, and libraries pushing explicit and far-left material on unwilling taxpayers,” Joy Pullman writes for The Federalist. “She described queering the library as ‘critical thinking’ and ‘thinking critically’ about the catalog.”
Several conservative states have recently severed ties with the ALA out of concern for their support of sexualized materials, Politico reports.
Florida announced at the end of October that they would be the next state to discontinue a relationship with ALA.
Florida has taken a lead in protecting children from inappropriate materials, Fox reports.
Governor DeSantis (R) signed a bill in the summer of 2023 requiring all books available to children to be chronicled. Complaints about any of those books are now to be documented and reported. If the books are pornographic or sexually explicit they are to be removed from the library pending a review.
Opponents of the removal of books often cite the need to trust school librarians to make the decisions about what books should and should not be in the libraries. Emily Drabinski pointed to a master’s degree as justification for the autonomy in book selection.
At a September 2023 congressional hearing on book banning, participants supported an effort to ensure that parents did not have the authority to request that books be removed from schools.
Senator Kennedy (R-LA) read graphic passages from two books parents have objected to. He questioned the panel about their recommendation for a book selection process.
“Are you suggesting that only librarians should decide whether the two books that I just referenced should be available to kids,” Kennedy said. “Is that what you are saying?”
“We are not advocating for kids to read porn,” panelist, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said. “We are asking for parents, random parents to not have the ability under the guise of keeping kids safe to try to challenge the worldview of every single manner on these issues.”
“Are you asking that only librarians and not parents have any say in whether minors can read those books?” Kennedy said. “Is that what you are saying? Tell me who gets to decide. All I’ve heard is the librarians and parents have nothing to do with it. If that’s your response what planet did you just parachute in from?”
Giannoulias actively advocates and fundraises in support of librarians and their autonomous authority over library content.
“All voices deserve to be heard, not silenced,” the fundraising website, Act Blue, reads. “Alexi is fighting to make sure kids have age-appropriate access to stories and that librarians and teachers are empowered to choose the materials that are best for their students. Will you make a donation of any amount to join him in the fight against extreme, ultra-conservative book bans?”
“Our anti-book ban law is garnering attention, with dedicated librarians poised to safeguard your right to access diverse perspectives,” Giannoulias writes on X.
School librarians deliberately decide to purchase and display sexually explicit books, Max Eden and Jay Greene write in a commentary posted on Heartland Daily News.
“All 10 of the books we found that were actually removed most often contained disturbingly explicit passages about sex,” Eden and Greene write. “Take, for example, the most-banned, “Gender Queer.” That graphic novel features a picture of oral sex being performed on a sex toy. It also contains an X-rated passage.”
“So while Drabinski tells the general public that librarians aren’t trying to help minors access pornography, by her own admission elsewhere that’s exactly what she has focused her professional career on doing, with taxpayer resources,” Pullman writes.
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