The Senate Education Committee will convene a meeting to hear invited and public testimony on Leiutenant Govenor Dan Patrick's Interim Charges including SB 12 and SB 13- laws passed during the 89th legislative session that have already had a serious impact on public school classrooms and libraries. 

In case you need a refresher, SB 12 prohibits teaching topics considered “DEI” and bans student-led gender/sexuality alliance and LGBTQ+ pride clubs- among a bunch of other things. And SB 13 allows school boards to establish “school library advisory councils” to root out “profane” and “indecent” content in schools.

As you likely know, if you've been impacted by either of these laws- they're doing far more harm than good for Texas students, parents, and educators.

This upcoming meeting provides an opportunity for you to share your feedback with the Senate Education Committee and register your concerns into Texas's public record. This hearing will likely set the stage for the legislature's education priorities during the 90th Legislative Session which begins in January 2027.

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.

{This post was originally published on Texas Freedom to Read Project cofounder, Frank Strong's, independent Substack: Anger & Clarity. It is re-published here, with permission.}

Texas Freedom to Read Project is compiling information on book removals in the state of Texas in the 2025-2026 school year. It’s the most comprehensive attempt to track the statewide effects of book-banning bills—especially Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 13—that were passed in the state’s 2025 legislative session. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who made both of those bills a priority, has charged the Senate Education Committee with monitoring the implementation of SB12 and SB13, and making “recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, or complete implementation” of those laws.

We have a ton of information on how the implementation of those bills has played out, and we are going to make sure the Education Committee hears it.

{Post written in collaboration with Izzy Mason, New Braunfels ISD parent.} 

Fighting book bans and censorship in Texas is not for the faint of heart. Not a single victory for the freedom to read has been won by people staying home and staying silent. The only "wins" we've had, are when people find the courage to stand up and speak out. Keep showing up. Keep speaking up. Even if your voice shakes. Even if you're the only one. Our kids, our libraries, and our freedom to read are worth the fight. 

NBISD parent, Izzy Mason, delivered this pointed public comment during the open forum at a recent New Braunfels ISD school board meeting. The transcript and video of her comment are shared here, with permission. May this example bring you some inspiration and motivation to speak up, too. 

{Guest Blog Post by Rachael Welsh} In May of this year, several newspapers, including the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer, published a list of books to read over the summer. While this would normally be an eventful article, a list of books for vacations and poolside reading, there was a problem with this list: ten of the fifteen books weren’t real. 

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.

(This is a guest post written by librarian, Kalyn Gensic. This post was originally written and shared by Kalyn on her personal Facebook page, and is shared with permission, here.)

It is three o’clock in the morning, and I can’t sleep because my mind is replaying the no good, horrible, very bad week I had at work. It wasn’t bad because of the students (they were funny and inquisitive and were happy to talk about all the books with me). It wasn’t my co-workers (Cooper has the best staff - bar none). It wasn’t my district (still proud to be part of AISD). It was because this week, a law made over the summer in the Texas Senate had real, tangible effects on my day-to-day job. My guess is most people don’t know about SB 13, but I think it is something Texans need to be aware of, so I’m going to tell you about it.

Something no representative on either side of the political aisle seems to understand about Senate Bill 13 is that it’s not “House Bill 900 is not working” as the book banners like to claim. It’s that the 40 or so book banners who are driving their movement for the whole state refuse to take “no” for an answer.

The Texas House Committee on Public Education will consider SB 13 on Tuesday, May 6 at 8am. We are running out of time to stop this bill- that threatens to destroy Texas public school libraries- from becoming law. If you are a Texas parent, retired or current school librarian, or supporter of public school libraries of any kind, and you have been saving yourself to testify on ONE bill this session- please join the parents behind Texas Freedom to Read Project, in Austin, on Tuesday and speak up against SB 13.