A school district in the Texas Panhandle temporarily removed Bibles and then quickly reinstated them to comply with a controversial new state law banning sexually explicit content in schools.
House Bill 900, also known as the Explicit Adult Educational Resources (Readers) Restriction Act, goes into effect in September 2023 and requires library vendors to evaluate materials for explicit content and identify potentially explicit books. Parents are required to be notified and, if necessary, materials already in circulation must be collected. . More broadly, the law requires library content to meet state education standards.
The bill, proposed by Rep. Jared Patterson, is aimed at protecting students from obscene content, but critics say it could restrict constitutional freedoms. It has faced legal problems even before its implementation.
Citing HB900, the entire Bible was temporarily banned in the Canyon Independent School District, which enrolls 11,000 students in 21 schools in Amarillo and Canyon counties.
In a leaked email with no date or recipient, Superintendent Darryl Frousche said HB900 “does not allow access to many books in school libraries, including the entire text of the Bible.” Frusche said students should contact their local church to receive a Bible and encouraged parents to raise concerns about HB900 with their local legislators.
Some parents and elected officials protested the removal of religious texts. At the Dec. 9 school board meeting, Canyon ISD parent Regina Keene said, “It seems ridiculous to me that good books would be thrown away with the bad books.” Ta.
“It makes sense to have the Word of God in school libraries,” she continued. “After all, it is a book of wisdom. It is the best-selling book of all time. It is historically accurate, scientifically sound, and most importantly, life-changing.”
State Sen. Kevin Sparks said in a Dec. 19 Instagram post that the district’s Bible ban was “misguided.” “Because the Bible is not educationally inappropriate, sexually explicit or pervasively vulgar, its removal is legally and morally indefensible.When students seek guidance, the Bible It provides an important moral framework.”
The district reinstated the Bible shortly thereafter, announcing in a Dec. 19 statement: “Following the passage of House Bill 900, Canyon ISD conducted a comprehensive review of its library materials to ensure compliance with the latest state guidelines. We have reevaluated our guidelines and are pleased to have Bibles available in each Canyon ISD library.”
The case in Canyon illustrates a general push by the conservative right to increase parental control over school curriculum, which often faces legal challenges.
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The state adopted library standards, including HB900, last December, but the 5th Circuit later blocked the portion of the law that required vendors to evaluate materials. Most of the remaining laws will remain in place.
HB900 is being fought in the Western District of Texas in a joint lawsuit filed by Houston and Austin booksellers, the American Booksellers Association, the American Publishers Association, the Authors Guild, and the Comics Legal Defense Fund. Texas school board and library officials.
“The book ban’s overly broad language prohibits access to many classic works of literature, including ‘Twelfth Night,’ ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ ‘The Canterbury Tales,’ ‘We Know,'” the lawsuit states. or may be restricted.” Why Does the Caged Bird Sing?” and even the Bible. ”
The complaint alleges that HB900 “harkens back to a dark time in our nation’s history when the government acted as a licensor and directed the release of information to the public.”
