What Texas School Districts and Trustees Need to Know: SB 13, EFB Policies, & SLACs

The 89th Session of the Texas Legislature was a tough one for those who care about the freedom to read. Texas Freedom to Read Project spent countless hours working alongside legislators, staffers, and incredible advocacy groups to stand up for students, libraries, public schools, and the fundamental right to access information. There were some important wins, but also some deeply frustrating losses.

One of the most disheartening aspects of this session was seeing how many bills, especially those impacting libraries and the freedom to read, were driven more by political theater and special interests than by the real needs of Texans. They were written to score points in a culture war, often at the expense of public schools and libraries. This is particularly frustrating when so many Texas families are facing real, urgent challenges.

Among the most concerning pieces of legislation to pass this year is Senate Bill 13, which imposes new onerous and impractical regulations on school libraries. We warned our community  about it during the session here and here. Unfortunately the bill takes effect September 1. 

The problem? SB 13 wasn’t crafted to solve an actual problem. It’s confusing, burdensome, and out of touch with how school libraries and book purchasing actually work. It’s clear the bill’s sponsors didn’t consult library professionals, and the result is legislation that will do real harm. But now school districts across Texas are being forced to implement it and instead of protecting students, we believe it has the potential to break school libraries, create more problems than it solves, and empty out school library shelves.

Last week we sent a letter to over 6,000 school board trustees, superintendents, and district administrators across Texas outlining our concerns about SB 13 and offering practical suggestions to help minimize the harm it could cause.

We’re asking you to take a moment to read the letter and to consider sharing it with your local school board members and district leaders. Feel free to forward it directly, and include a personal note about why this issue matters to you as a parent, or community member,  in the district. Your voice makes a difference.

Dear School Board Trustees and District Administration,

We’re reaching out from Texas Freedom to Read Project to share concerns regarding the implementation of Texas Senate Bill 13 (SB 13) in school districts across Texas. SB 13 is a law that regulates school libraries. We are a parent-founded, non-partisan, non-profit organization. During the 89th legislative session we worked closely with state legislators and other groups across the state to advocate for the freedom to read for our children and all Texas students. 

This is admittedly a long email- but we appreciate your attention to our concern for Texas students. 

We've already seen several Texas school districts attempt to interpret and implement SB 13, and one thing is clear: the law is nearly impossible to effectively implement. The law is complicated, filled with burdensome steps, unrealistic timelines, and vague requirements. Even legal experts in education policy are struggling to make sense of it. Understand that Senate Bill 13 was passed by our state legislature as one of the Lieutenant Governor’s priorities, along with other legislation like the SB 10 (the Ten Commandments law) and SB 2 (the voucher bill) that further politicize public education and now districts and school boards are left to interpret a law that lacks clarity and practicality.

Your district has likely received a TASB policy update which includes one or more sample EFB local policies intended to bring districts into compliance with SB 13. We have attached two sample TASB policies for you to review: EFB (L) ALT (this is the policy that does NOT implement a SLAC) and EFB (L) SLAC.

In addition to the sample policies, we encourage you to read the full text of SB 13 to fully understand the challenges it presents: TX SB13 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled | LegiScan

If your district is a District of Innovation, we encourage you to consider what flexibility this affords you under the law- especially if you are satisfied with your district’s current EFB Local Library Materials Policy.

Our hope is to see districts implement SB 13 in a way that complies with state law and minimizes harm to school libraries and students. 

Below are our key recommendations:

1. Avoid Establishing a School Library Advisory Council (SLAC)

SB 13 allows, but does not require, districts to create a School Library Advisory Council (SLAC), modeled after School Health Advisory Councils (SHAC). Unless 50 parents, (or 10% of parents, whichever is fewer) in a district formally petition for one, establishing a SLAC is optional.

Recently, a district in North Texas adopted SLACs believing a formal or informal version of a SLAC was somehow required, it is not. TASB provided two policy versions, one that included a SLAC and one that did not.  We strongly advise against voluntarily implementing a SLAC.

 If your district receives a petition and must form one, we urge you to appoint members who respect and support the professional judgment of your certified librarians. Importantly, it is not required that SLAC members be chosen from among the petitioning parents.

Our concerns with SLACs:

• Severe Delays: After a SLAC reviews library purchase lists, the list must be posted publicly for 30 days for community input and then submitted to the school board for final approval (who may overrule the SLAC). This could delay purchasing new books for up to 7–12  months, even under ideal circumstances. Our children will not have access to the books they want to read. Avoiding a SLAC will allow your curriculum team, librarians, and administrators to do their jobs without adding dozens of layers of onerous work. 
• Impractical Workload: SLACs are tasked with reviewing every new library book before purchase. A group of five to seven parents, meeting twice a year, cannot realistically review the volume of titles most districts consider (this number is likely in the thousands). SLACs are also tasked with dozens of unclear recommendations and requirements listed in SB 13. If a district avoids creating a SLAC, these confusing, cumbersome, and impractical requirements can be avoided altogether. 
• Negative Academic Impact: Consider Keller ISD, which adopted a similar policy. Because of the confusing and arduous process, the district just went 16 months without purchasing a single new library title. Their most recent 2025 STAAR scores show district-wide reading declines in 3rd and 7th grades. https://fortworthreport.org/2025/06/17/fort-worth-area-students-improve-staar-scores-for-first-time-since-2022-heres-who-leads/#Keller

Safeguards established in SB 13 will still exist without the creation of a SLAC:

• SB 13 requires districts to establish collection development standards in compliance with the new additions established Section 33.021.
• SB 13 requires districts to post proposed book purchase lists online for 30 days for comment and review. This will allow parents to voice concerns and participate in the process. Adding a SLAC only duplicates steps and introduces significant delays and confusion.  
• SB 13 requires school boards to approve library purchase lists in a public board meeting before they can be procured. 
• SB 13 requires the creation of a challenge committee.This is something that HB 900 currently requires and something you’ve already had in place for years. TASB Sample policy EFB (L) ALT outlines the new requirements for challenge committees mandated by SB 13. We recommend adopting local policy language that allows the superintendent to delegate the creation of challenge committees to the appropriate district staff.  

2. Avoid Over-Defining Subjective Legal Terms

The language in SB 13 introduces subjective terms such as “profane,” “vulgar,” and “local community values.” These are open to broad interpretation.

We strongly recommend against creating detailed rubrics or checklists to further define these terms. Doing so could:

• Open the door to lawsuits.
• Violate students’ constitutional rights, as protected in the Supreme Court case Island Trees School District v. Pico.
• Inappropriately restrict access to diverse viewpoints and ideas.
  

Instead, we recommend including policy language that emphasizes evaluating books in their entirety and as a whole, rather than judging based on isolated passages. Encourage thoughtful  thorough evaluation of library materials that complies with the standards established in this new law.

3. Collection Development belongs with Professionals 

Section 33.025 of SB 13 reads:

The board of trustees of each school district may establish a local school library advisory council to assist the district in ensuring that local community values are reflected in each school library catalog in the district.
The local school library advisory council's duties include recommending to the board of trustees whether library materials proposed for acquisition under Section 33.026 are appropriate for each grade level of the school or campus for which the library materials are proposed to be acquired.

The law is clear: if a district elects to establish a local school library advisory council (SLAC), the council’s role is to assist the district in ensuring that the library catalog complies with the standards adopted under section 33.021.

However, the responsibility for developing library collections ultimately rests with certified librarians and district staff who are trained in this area.

There is language in TASB’s sample policy that appears to conflict with the statute. If your district chooses to implement the SLAC version of the policy (EFB(LOCAL)-SLAC), we recommend substituting the language before adopting it locally to ensure consistency with the statute.

The line of concern is in the section titled “Recommendation and Procurement of Materials,” and currently reads:

“Librarians and other professional staff shall assist the SLAC in developing the list of library material recommendations to be presented to the Board.”

We recommend revising this language to:

“The SLAC shall assist the district in developing the list of library material recommendations to be presented to the board.”

Why we as parents oppose SLACs

As parents, we encourage districts to trust their certified librarians, support parents in guiding their own children’s reading choices, and avoid implementing unnecessary structures or politicized processes that could hinder educational access or operational efficiency. 

Parental involvement in education is essential and valuable, but the way SLACs are written into SB 13 will create more challenges than solutions. We strongly recommend against adopting SLACs (unless required to do so by petition) and instead urge districts to explore alternative, more effective ways to involve parents in their children’s education. 

We’re here as a resource to help you navigate the (im)practical realities of SB 13. Please let us know if we can be of support or assistance. And most of all, thank you for all you do for Texas students and families!

Sincerely,

Anne Russey, Frank Strong, & Laney Hawes

Co-Founders, Texas Freedom to Read Project

Thanks for reading. Now, go contact your trustees and school district leaders. We encourage you to be kind, patient, and supportive in your approach- most of them are doing the best they can to minimize harm to students and schools, while trying to implement and comply with impossible legal requirements brought on by Senate Bill 13 and many others impacting public schools. Let them know you have their backs, and want to work with them to minimize damage to our school libraries.