Conroe ISD: A Self-Imposed Literacy Crisis

By the end of this semester, Conroe ISD teachers have been instructed to check every book in their classroom against the district's library catalog. If a matching ISBN (barcode) is not found, teachers must remove them from student access until, or unless, the school board approves a teacher's request to add the book to the list of approved titles. ISBN numbers vary greatly, even among books of identical title and content. For example, books that are large print, paperback, or retail hard cover will have different ISBNs than those typically found and bound for use in school libraries. 

{The following guest post was originally posted to Facebook by Conroe ISD mom, Tiffany Marie Johnston. Tiffany recently volunteered her time to assist a classroom teacher with the classroom library book vetting and cataloging process. It is re-shared here, with her permission.}

My heart is completely broken today. As a woman who cherishes literature and a mother who has spent years teaching her children the pure joy, empathy, and wonder that come from turning a page, I felt this was a modern-day tragedy.

I spent my day scanning beloved books, not to see if they were full of goodness or knowledge, but to see if their exact ISBN number matched an administrative list.

The reality of what is happening under the guise of protection is staggering. I didn’t find “harmful” content. What I found on the unapproved list—and what had to be packed away—was almost every single science book in the room. Books about space exploration. Books about engineering, building, nature, earth science, and animals. Alongside them, the absolute staples of childhood wonder—books like The Berenstain Bears, Where the Wild Things Are, and Little Critter—were systematically cast aside simply because their specific editions weren't on a spreadsheet.

These are the very books we loved growing up, the ones that shaped our dreams, now being treated like contraband.

By the end of the day, I stood there trying not to cry, looking at four file boxes full of books banished from campus—hundreds of loved characters and thousands of hours of innocent childhood entertainment stored away in the dark.

I understand that we live in a world of big differences. I respect that every parent has a sacred right to guide their own child’s heart and mind. But true protection doesn't mean putting our children’s imagination in a cold box. God gave our children minds to wonder, intellects to question, and a beautiful world to discover through science and story.

When bureaucratic red tape sweeps away books about the very earth we walk on, the stars in the sky, and the gentle lessons of childhood, we aren't protecting children—we are starving their curiosity.

We can do better than this. We must be a community that lifts each other and encourages our children to grow, think, and explore, not one that rules by fear and erases the tools of learning.

Take a look at these boxes. This is what it looks like when we decide to limit a child's future.

About Texas Freedom to Read Project 

Texas Freedom to Read Project is a parent-founded, parent-led 501c3 nonprofit organization. Texas Freedom to Read Project supports, connects, and mobilizes parent and community led initiatives fighting for student rights and against censorship and book bans in Texas.

Learn more about who we are and what we stand for, here.