Texas Freedom to Read Project Response to Dan Patrick's Attacks on School Libraries, Librarians, and Students' Rights to Read.
Censorship, not books, is the real threat to Texas kids, according to Texas parents.
(Texas, USA)- Yesterday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and pearl-clutching, pro-censorship political activist Bonnie Wallace held a press conference at the Texas State Capitol, delivering an ultimatum to public school districts: remove books they have arbitrarily deemed "dirty" and "filthy" from school libraries or face new legislation next session that will automatically drop a district's state A–F accountability rating by a full letter grade.
Threatening to slash a school district’s A–F accountability rating over library books is not about protecting students. It is a power grab. It’s a calculated effort to force state takeovers and strip local control away from parents and communities. This is government-forced ideological compliance and just one piece of the larger plan to dismantle public education.
The terms Dan Patrick used to describe library books—"dirty," "filthy," and "vulgar"—are subjective. This ultimatum forces school administrators and school boards into an impossible guessing game, trying to anticipate which books state politicians and pro-censorship activists will deem inappropriate next. It will inevitably lead to overcompliance and likely the closure of school libraries entirely. The trajectory here feels obvious: we believe state leaders want to eliminate local discretion entirely. Our concern is they’ll eventually force districts to select exclusively from a state-approved list of materials that matches their political agenda. The SBOE mandated reading lists were likely a preview of what’s to come.
We have already seen the fallout from their last school library censorship law, Senate Bill 13. We’ve seen widespread confusion, frustration, and overcompliance. Districts are preemptively pulling valuable, award-winning literature off shelves simply to avoid becoming political targets because they fear political harassment.
And even when school districts follow the law, establish review committees, and make localized decisions guided by real parents in their communities, these same politicians and activists refuse to accept the outcome. In districts like Abilene ISD, when their local review committee and school board reviewed challenged books and voted to retain them, these activists turned around, harassed local leaders and parent library committee volunteers, and filed TEA complaints because they disagreed with the local parent decisions.
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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: this pro-censorship movement will not stop until they have absolute control over every book on every library shelf in Texas. These attacks on the freedom to read have always been about limiting access to information and silencing ideas that don't fit the narrow worldview these groups want to force on everyone else.
Dan Patrick and these activist groups have already passed laws (SB 13 and HB 900) attempting to control reading and restrict access to ideas in Texas schools. What they discovered is that when given local control, Texas parents and communities don’t want to ban books or limit their children’s education. Now Patrick and these groups are coming back a third time, but this round they are attempting to hold public schools and communities hostage to force compliance.
Real Texas parents see this for what it is. Real Texas parents care about strong literacy programs, well-funded classrooms, qualified teachers, and safe schools. They trust their local school boards and professional educators to partner with them on their children’s education. For statewide political organizations, local parent input is only welcomed when it matches their agenda.
It’s time for parents all across Texas to stand up and say, "No." This can only be stopped by a mandate from the people. Call your state legislators today and tell them how you feel about this proposed legislation. Make a plan to vote in November for candidates who will protect the freedom to read and the freedom for you to make decisions for your own children and your own local schools.
Laney Hawes, Frank Strong, and Anne Russey
Co-Founders, Texas Freedom to Read Project
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