Cyfair ISD’s Library Policy Opts Students Out of 10,000+ Books by Default
CFISD’s EFB Local Policy requires parent opt-in for books categorized by the district as “young adult” and “adult.” Here’s what that means for kids.
Cyfair ISD reported enrollment of over 114,000 students in the 2025-2026 school year. Public records obtained by Texas Freedom to Read Project, show that last school year only about 10% of total students (15% of secondary students) were opted in to library collection access beyond the default restrictions set by the district for each grade level.
Do not mistake low opt-in rate for parental support of library restrictions.
The abysmally low opt-in rates are not likely a result of a lack of trust in Cyfair ISD libraries, or librarians, or a desire by CFISD parents to limit their children’s access to library books, but rather a reflection of the challenges we see anytime opt-in is the default, instead of opt-out. We spoke to some highly engaged parents in CFISD who had no idea the extent to which students’ library access is currently limited.
Here’s what the opt-in option looks like for parents of elementary students in the District’s parent portal:
Screenshot of parent opt-in for library collections provided to Texas Freedom to Read Project by a CFISD parent.
As the list of books behind the “young adult” and “adult” restrictions have never been published by the district, parents have no way of knowing the volume or scope of the thousands of books they’re limiting, if they don’t opt their children in to access. Most parents who read the district's description of "young adult" and "adult" collections, probably do not assume that books like The House on Mango Street, Anne Frank's Diary, Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money: the Handbook of Financial Peace or Seabiscuit: an American Legend would be restricted by default.
Most parents probably assume their school district would only restrict a handful of library book titles out of an abundance of caution. Parents are increasingly overwhelmed by the bazillion online forms and webs of opt-ins, and opt-outs for everything from library access to health education to the school nurse providing bandaids in the event their child scrapes their knees at recess. Layer language, literacy, or cultural differences on top of these already over-complicated systems parents have to navigate, and it’s easy to see how someone who wants and assumes their kids will have full library access, may mistakingly check (or not check) a box that yields unintended, negative consequences for their student.
Cyfair ISD's local policy, not state law is driving censorship.
A relic of Cyfair ISD’s former far-right, anti-public education PAC backed board majority, the district’s EFB Local Policy places books categorized by CFISD as “young adult” and “adult” behind a parent opt-in-by-default restriction. In 2024, CFISD also eliminated half of their librarian positions under the leadership of the former board majority- so they’re currently operating at half the library staffing than is ideal for a district as large as Cyfair.
Screenshot from Cyfair ISD Board Policy, EFB Local
What books are we talking about?
By default, Cyfair ISD’s pre-K through 5th grade students have access to the juvenile collection, and parent opt-in is required for the books considered “young adult.” Books categorized by CFISD as “young adult” books in the elementary collection include titles like The Guinness Book of World Records, celebrity biographies, classics like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Source: Information obtained through public information request filed by Texas Freedom to Read Project.
Cyfair ISD’s EFB Local Policy grants 6th graders access to the juvenile collection by default, but requires parent opt-in for students to access books in the school library’s “young adult” and “adult” collections. CFISD 6th graders are restricted, by default, from borrowing approximately 14,000 titles. Restricted titles in the “young adult” collection for 6th graders include novels like Oliver Twist by Robin Waterfield and nonfiction works like The World's Worst Cars by Craig Cheetham and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.
Source: Information obtained through public information request filed by Texas Freedom to Read Project.
Beginning in 7th grade, Cyfair ISD students gain default-access, to their campus’s juvenile and "young adult" collections- but are still unable to access books categorized as “adult” by the district- unless their parents have opted them in. This means in junior high, 7th and 8th grade students are prohibited from checking out novels like Anne Frank’s Diary: the graphic adaptation by Ari Folman, Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, and Seabiscuit: an American Legend by Laura Hildebrand. Nonfiction books about topics like bullying, biology, human rights, and sexual abuse and dating violence prevention are also off limits.
Source: Information obtained through public information request filed by Texas Freedom to Read Project.
Cyfair ISD high school students are currently restricted from freely checking out approximately 10,000 titles categorized as “adult” by the District. Titles on this restricted list include some of the same titles restricted in junior highs as well as familiar classics like The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Anna Karenina by Lewis Tolstoy, The Diary of Anne Frank, 1984 by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, and Emma by Jane Austen. Other surprising titles behind the high school parent opt-in restriction include books like Everything You Need to Know About Sexual Assault, Awkward Family Pet Photos by Mike Bender, Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell, and Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money: the Handbook of Financial Peace.
Source: Information obtained through public information request filed by Texas Freedom to Read Project.
So how does Cyfair ISD fix this problem?
First, CFISD can follow Trustee Lesley Guilmart’s lead, and increase communication to district parents about the current policy, and provide clear instructions for how parents can opt-in to full and complete library access for their students, if they wish.
Next- as Trustee Guilmart’s Facebook post points out, Cyfair ISD’s EFB Local (passed by the prior board majority) goes above and beyond what is required by any Texas laws, and is overdue for an overhaul to align with (rather than exceed) state laws. Parents have the ability, and the right under Texas law SB 13, to restrict access to any/all titles they do not want their individual student to have access to, but NO right to restrict access for all students. The entire “Grade Span Access by Collection” section, and the default opt-out should be eliminated. The default for library access should be all students are able to access every book in their campus library collection, unless their parents choose otherwise.
Finally, if you live in Cyfair ISD, we strongly encourage you to write your school board and ask them to revise EFB Local, and restore access to the thousands of library books currently inaccessible due to parent opt-in restrictions. We urge you to be kind in your communication, as this is a big problem the current board majority inherited from the prior board. It’s easy to break things (like community trust and libraries), and hard to rebuild them.
Email the Cyfair ISD Trustees:
Julie Hinaman, President: [email protected]
Dr. Cleveland Lane, Jr., Vice President: [email protected]
Lesley Guilmart, Secretary: [email protected]
Todd Lecompte: [email protected]
Justin Ray: [email protected]
Kendra Camarena: [email protected]
Christine Kalmbach: [email protected]
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.
While we are volunteer run, we do have operating costs associated with the work we do. Things like tabling and traveling to events and conferences that help us educate and inform the masses, obtaining public information requests, and printing materials cost money.
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