AUSTIN, Texas — Amid growing scrutiny from parents and conservative politicians of curriculum in Texas public schools, a Republican state lawmaker has asked superintendents to investigate and catalog books in schools related to race and sex or that could produce “discomfort” among students.
State Rep. Matt Krause of Fort Worth, chairman of an investigating committee, is also asking for a tally of how much districts spent on the books.
He made the request to select superintendents and Texas Education Agency deputy commissioner Lily Laux in a Monday letter with a list of more than 800 books for districts to check against library and classroom collections.
The list includes books related to marginalized groups, social justice and on health, including “The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine” and titles on sexually transmitted diseases.
The letter also called on school districts to identify other books or content addressing “human sexuality” and “material that might make students feel discomfort … or convey that a student, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,” mirroring language in a new Texas law targeting classroom discussions of such topics.
The exact ramifications of Krause’s request are still unclear, but Democratic lawmakers and library and education advocates decried the effort as once again putting schools in the crosshairs of political and cultural fights.
“It’s been a really concerning situation for our school librarians, and our education system has already been so strained over the last year and a half,” said Shirley Robinson, executive director of the Texas Library Association.
In Central Texas, officials at the Austin, Round Rock, Leander, Pflugerville and Lake Travis school districts said they received the letter. District leaders at Austin and Round Rock districts said they would work to respond to the request.
“Our Library Director is working on the request,” Round Rock spokeswoman Jenny LaCoste-Caputo told the American-Statesman. “It will take a significant amount of time to research each title and determine which ones we have available, at which campuses, how many copies, and the cost for each.”
In the Leander, Pflugerville and Lake Travis school districts, spokespeople said district leaders were still determining next steps.
The letter appears to have been sent to large urban and suburban school districts across the state, said Joy Baskin, director of legal services for the Texas Association of School Boards.
Krause did not respond to Statesman inquiries about the request.
In the letter, Krause invoked his role as the chairman of the Texas House General Investigating Committee, noting the committee “may initiate inquiries concerning any ‘matter the committee considers necessary for the information of the legislature or for the welfare and protection of state citizens.’”
People who disobey a subpoena or other process that a general investigating committee lawfully issues can be cited by the committee for contempt of the Legislature, which is punishable by a fine of between $100 and $1,000 and imprisonment for at least 30 days and up to a year, according to Texas government code.
But the request was not made as a formal public records request or subpoena and has raised questions even among some of the committee members, Baskin said.
In response to a question about how the TEA would respond to the request, the agency provided a statement: “TEA’s investigative authority arises under the provisions of the Texas Education Code. Legislative investigatory authority falls outside of TEA’s purview, and any question regarding such authority should be directed to the committee. In addition, TEA does not comment on investigations that it may or may not have opened that haven’t yet closed.”
The committee’s vice chair, Victoria Neave, D-Dallas, said the committee did not vote on Krause’s request and she was not aware of it until a school district official alerted her.
“This really looks like it’s, you know, a PR stunt for … personal political ambition,” she told the Statesman on Wednesday. Krause is running for Texas attorney general next year.
“I really think that the schools should be focusing on educating our kids, giving them historically accurate information, rather than wasting taxpayer dollars on an issue that is a political tactic intended to create division,” she said.
Information from school districts can be made available to anyone through requests under the Texas Public Information Act, but there are also specific procedures that Krause did not appear to follow, Baskin said.
“So it seems like it’s essentially a voluntary request from the committee,” she said. “I think most districts will respond to it as if it were a Public Information Act request, meaning that they will send documents that they have that are responsive if they have any. But they may not feel obligated to engage in the wide-ranging internal investigation that the letter appears to call.”
Austin Superintendent Stephanie S. Elizalde said the district would comply with the request, but she did not want educators to become distracted from serving students.
“We exist to serve students in an academic, social, emotionally learning environment, so we want to make sure we stay focused on that,” Elizalde told the Statesman on Wednesday. “So I don’t want to turn everything upside down like, ‘Oh, everybody stop, we’ve got to go through this and that and the other.’”
Krause asked school districts to respond to the letter by Nov. 12.
“It’s not just a school library. Teachers have individual classroom libraries, and then there’s sets of books that we have for students,” Elizalde said. “And we have carousels that we put out in open spaces because reading is fundamental.”
Krause’s request did not call for banning any books, but many worry it could prompt more challenges to books and curriculum.
“It creates a chilling effect, because school staff starts being more careful,” said Carolyn Foote, a freelance librarian who retired from the Eanes school district last spring. “They start reconsidering what they should have in a classroom library. They start reconsidering what they might want their school librarian to purchase, even though there’s nothing necessarily wrong with the books on the list or inappropriate.”
Parents and politicians have challenged books in schools for decades, but school leaders and librarians say they have seen an increase in scrutiny over book titles amid the recent conservative movement against efforts in schools to address and discuss racism and inequities.
“We absolutely have seen an uptick and challenges to content materials,” Robinson said.
In Leander, parents complained about optional book club titles. The district conducted a review process and pulled 13 books, pending final approval as of mid-September.
In Lake Travis and Bastrop, a few parents challenged the book “Out of Darkness,” complaining that it contains sexually suggestive content.
School districts have policies and processes in place for book selections and for parents to express concerns or request alternatives for their children, but librarians worry broad reviews and challenges might limit selections for all students.
“Our librarians receive extensive education and ongoing training to make sure that they’re qualified to develop collections that meet really broad and varied interests and the needs of their communities,” Robinson said. “Their job really is to focus on book collections that reflect the communities and the families that we’re serving.”
BOOKS IN QUESTION
A Republican state lawmaker is scrutinizing 800 books. Here are some of them:
- “Between the World and Me” by Ta-nehisi Coates
- “How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi
- “Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor” by Layla Saad
- “The Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears” by Susan E. Hamen
- “An indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People” by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza
- “The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” by Margaret Atwood
- “Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Pérez
- “In The Dream House: A Memoir” by Carmen Maria Machado
- “Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot” by Mikki Kendall
- “Rainbow Revolutions: Power, Pride, and Protest in the Fight for Queer Rights” by Jamie Lawson
- “She, He, They, Them: Understanding Gender Identity” by Rebecca Stanborough
- “Real Talk About Sex and Consent: What Every Teen Needs to Know” by Cheryl M. Bradshaw
- “The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan” by Jenny Nordberg
- “It’s a Girl Thing: How to Stay Healthy, Safe, and in Charge” by Mavis Jukes
- “Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights” by Karen Blumenthal
