No - this is not the latest satirical headline at The Onion. This is reality for the 49,000+ students who attend Lamar Consolidated ISD schools.

A public information request filed by Texas Freedom to Read Project confirmed that LCISD removed over 700 books from classrooms and school libraries at the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

Nearly 300 titles removed from Lamar Consolidated ISD classrooms & libraries

The first list of nearly 300 titles- including Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann, Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut and so, so, so many more- are books that have been permanently removed (ie banned) from the Lamar Consolidated ISD students. The list includes a column which indicated the reason why the title was deemed unfit to remain on shelves.

Since these removals took place before the newest Texas school library law took effect on September 1, you won’t see Senate Bill 13 listed as the reason for removal.

Instead, the reasons for removal state “Not in alignment with EFB Local/HB 900.” The list also includes a note to indicate if the book was found to violate LCISD’s absurd local library materials policy which includes prohibition on all frontal nudity, among other criteria that stretch far beyond what is required by any state laws. The district’s local policy prompted them to turn off (ie censor) elementary student’s access to a digital lesson on the entire state of Virginia in April 2025.

Over 450 titles prohibited from use and purchase in Lamar Consolidated ISD

The second list includes hundreds of titles that the district says are currently under review, and prohibited from being purchased. Our understanding is, the district instructed teachers and librarians to pull all books on this list from their school library and classrooms, while the titles under go review- even if those books were slated to be used in TEKS aligned lesson plans.

A few of the titles included on this list of books currently under review and prohibited from purchase in LCISD include Maus 1 and Maus 2 by Art Spiegelman, Drama by Raina Telgemeir, Black Boy Joy by Kwame Alexander and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

Lists of removed titles, obtained by Texas Freedom to Read Project, via Public Information Request, may be more easily viewed here.

Who is challenging these books? Why are these books being targeted?

According to the public information request we received from Lamar Consolidated ISD, the school district has not received a formal request to reconsider any library or instructional materials since prior to January 1, 2024.

They also stated that not all books on the list can be found in LCISD, but that the school board is requiring a review of all of the titles.

So how and why are these books being targeted for restriction and removal, and by whom?

That question is harder to answer. But what we can tell you, is that according to data collected by the American Library Association, 72% of demands to remove library books in 2024 came from politicians and pressure groups- not parents.

For years politicians, traveling book banning pastors, political activists and political groups have been sending book lists to school districts throughout the state of Texas, demanding mass book removals and threatening to engage in public read aloud performances designed to bully administrators and trustees into compliance, if the districts refuse to give in to their demands.

The books that are being targeted, restricted, and removed from schools and libraries are often by and about people who belong to marginalized groups: racial, ethnic and religious minorities, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. Their themes and content tend to center ideas, stories, and perspectives deemed politically unpopular, immoral, or un-American, by those driving the book banning movement. In reality, the books and stories often depict diverse and inclusive families, complex themes such as sexual abuse/assault prevention, racism, drug use

What happens in Lamar Consolidated ISD, will not stay in Lamar Consolidated ISD

The same people, organizations, and groups successfully lobbied the Texas legislature for laws they believe will make it easier to criminalize educators and librarians, and for them to remove books they believe are “harmful,” “indecent,” “profane,” and “inconsistent with community values.”

How you can help.

Email book-ban happy Texas lawmakers, the Lamar Consolidated ISD School Board of Trustees, and the Superintendent, to let them know Texans won’t stand for book bans or censorship in our public school districts.

DEFEND THE FREEDOM TO READ IN LCISD: SEND AN EMAIL NOW.

Other ways to make your voice heard as a parent, student, and a Texan:

• Watch, attend, and speak up at local school board meetings any time your Library Materials Policy is being discussed and considered (usually referred to as EFB Local).
• Volunteer in your student's school library- ask your librarian how you can best support them.
• Volunteer to serve on your school district's library materials reconsideration committee, or Senate Bill 13 School Library Advisory Council (if your district establishes one)
• Find, support, and vote for candidates who support the freedom to read in every election- up and down the ballot (school board trustees to the White House).
• Consider running for elected office (school board, county commissioner, city council, and beyond!)

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.