(Texas, USA)- Yesterday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and pearl-clutching, pro-censorship political activist Bonnie Wallace held a press conference at the Texas State Capitol, delivering an ultimatum to public school districts: remove books they have arbitrarily deemed "dirty" and "filthy" from school libraries or face new legislation next session that will automatically drop a district's state A–F accountability rating by a full letter grade.

Threatening to slash a school district’s A–F accountability rating over library books is not about protecting students. It is a power grab. It’s a calculated effort to force state takeovers and strip local control away from parents and communities. This is government-forced ideological compliance and just one piece of the larger plan to dismantle public education.

On Monday, May 6, 2024, Texas Freedom to Read Project, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, Authors Against Book Bans, and Children's Defense Fund of Texas sent the following joint letter to Superintendents, Trustees and Curriculum Directors, throughout the state of Texas, regarding the implementation of HB900 and the Texas State Library & Archive Commission library development standards. 

As a long-time parent within the Garland Independent School District (GISD), I have always valued the commitment of educators to foster an environment of learning and exploration for our children. However, recent developments regarding the censorship of books within school libraries have raised significant concerns among parents like myself.