In recent years, Texas has been involved in many debates over banning books in educational institutions and public libraries. Advocates argue that such actions are vital for shielding young minds from objectionable content, while critics say that book banning undermines intellectual freedom and overlooks the root problem of literacy. Texas faces a significant literacy challenge, often called an "illiteracy" problem. However, banning books is not the remedy for this issue. Instead, there are more effective strategies for enhancing literacy rates among Texas residents.

Public Comment Delivered to Llano ISD School Board on 2/26/24- My name is Leila Green Little.  My children are the 5th generation in their family to attend Llano’s public schools, with two of their grandmothers having taught here, and ancestors with names carved into the concrete in front of the O. Henry building.  I love this public school system.  I received an excellent education here, and feel that my children are also receiving an excellent education from caring, hardworking teachers.  

I applaud our librarians, administrators, and school board, most especially for their adherence to policies and procedures in the face of attempted intimidation.  The ship is right, and I hope we don’t steer off course.  

It was a cold Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday this year, and my family and I puttered around the house, snacking, working on puzzles, and reading library books. I had just sat down with a cup of coffee when my eight-year-old son walked up behind me and said in a quiet voice, “I just read about what happened to the Jews in Germany.”

112 book titles were on the Katy ISD “internal review” cue between October 23, 2023 - January 11, 2024. 62 of those titles were submitted to the District for “internal review” by one parent.  

A district administrator told me that there is nothing unusual about sourcing “internal review” ideas from parents. However, as someone who has looked at thousands of emails about internal and formal book reviews in Katy ISD, I can tell you- this is not normal. 

Texas is at the forefront of restricting one of the most fundamental rights we enjoy in the United States.

By passing laws like HB900, our politicians have decided it’s their job to legislate whose stories can be told, and what books we are allowed- and not allowed- to read. 

At the Texas Freedom to Read Project, we believe this notion to be fundamentally untrue.  To us, the First Amendment is essential to a free society.  The ability to freely exchange ideas, to speak out, to listen in return, to write and to read without the government telling us what we are or are not allowed to say or not say—that is true liberty.  

Why do we fight for the freedom to read? One basic answer is that we’re both parents and readers. As readers, we remember being introduced to the power of libraries as young people, a power connected to a sense of possibility and the infinite. We remember growing under the trust that adults bestowed upon us, treading unsteadily into books that might have seemed beyond us but that eventually became some of our favorite books, books that we shared with our friends and returned to again and again.

And as parents we want that for our kids.

In the summer of 2021, several citizens in Llano county approached the recently promoted and unqualified public library system director about some books.  Their collective concern was that books such as Freddie the Farting Snowman by Jane Bexley and I Need a New Butt by Dawn McMillan were “inappropriate.”