Lufkin, Texas (East Texas News) – Parents and the community will be able to weigh in on which books they’d like to see, or even have removed, from Texas public schools.
Senate Bill 13 is set to take effect this fall. Its goal is to give parents control over what their children read in schools.
Dr. Daniel Spikes, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services at the Lufkin Independent School District, explained that the school board must approve every new book purchase or donation before it sits on the library shelves.
“Now, the school board will play a larger role in selecting library materials,” he said.
But prior to the board’s approval, Spikes noted that the list of those books will be available for 30 days.
“This will give our parents and our community the opportunity to review the content of that list,” he said.
To comply with state law, the Lufkin Independent School District’s board approved it at last Wednesday’s special meeting. Spikes explained that if the community requests that a book be removed, the board will discuss it.
“If anyone sees a book, or comes across one, but believes it should not be in the library, they can immediately fill out our request form,” he said.
If approved, the book would be removed from the library and also from classrooms. Work is also underway to make the catalogs of the district’s 12 campus libraries more accessible. Beginning Tuesday, you can contact the university directly to request a list of books available on campus.
“We still have some administrative steps pending to ensure these materials are publicly accessible or easy to use,” Spikes said.
The law takes effect on September 1.
