Bill Text: TX SB13 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to a school district's library materials and catalog, the creation of local school library advisory councils, and parental rights regarding public school library catalogs and access by the parent's child to library materials.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 15-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-04-24 - Referred to State Affairs [SB13 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB13-Engrossed.html

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By: Paxton, et al. S.B. No. 13

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a school district's library materials and catalog, the
creation of local school library advisory councils, and parental
rights regarding public school library catalogs and access by the
parent's child to library materials.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A parent is entitled to access to all written records of
a school district concerning the parent's child, including:
(1) attendance records;
(2) test scores;
(3) grades;
(4) disciplinary records;
(5) counseling records;
(6) psychological records;
(7) applications for admission;
(8) health and immunization information;
(9) teacher and school counselor evaluations;
(10) reports of behavioral patterns; [and]
(11) records relating to assistance provided for
learning difficulties, including information collected regarding
any intervention strategies used with the child; and
(12) records relating to school library materials the
child obtains from a school library.
SECTION 2. Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding
Section 26.017 to read as follows:
Sec. 26.017. NOTICE REGARDING SCHOOL LIBRARY MATERIALS.
(a) Before each school year, a school district shall provide
written notice to a parent of each child enrolled in the district
regarding the option to receive notice each time the child obtains a
school library material from a school library in the district.
(b) For each parent who elects to receive notice under
Subsection (a), the school district shall notify the parent by
e-mail each time the parent's child obtains a school library
material from a school library in the district. The notice must
include, as applicable, the title, author, genre, and return date
of the school library material.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.020 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.020. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Harmful material" has the meaning assigned by
Section 43.24, Penal Code.
(2) "Indecent content" means content that portrays
sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently
offensive.
(3) "Library material" means any book, record, file,
or other instrument or document in a school district's library
catalog. The term does not include instructional material, as
defined by Section 31.002, or materials procured for the TexShare
consortium under Subchapter M, Chapter 441, Government Code.
(4) "Profane content" means content that includes
grossly offensive language that is considered a public nuisance.
SECTION 4. Section 33.021, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.021. LIBRARY STANDARDS. (a) The Texas State
Library and Archives Commission[, in consultation with the State
Board of Education,] shall submit proposed [adopt] standards for
school library services to the State Board of Education for
approval or disapproval.
(b) The standards approved under Subsection (a) must
include a collection development policy that:
(1) prohibits the acquisition or retention of:
(A) harmful material; and
(B) material containing indecent content or
profane content;
(2) demonstrates a commitment to compliance with the
Children's Internet Protection Act (Pub. L. No. 106-554),
including through the use of technology protection measures, as
defined by that Act; and
(3) prohibits the removal of library materials solely
because of the ideas expressed in the library materials.
(c) A school district shall adhere to [consider] the
standards approved under Subsection (a) in developing,
implementing, or expanding library services.
(d) A school district may adopt local policies and
procedures in addition to the standards approved under Subsection
(a) that do not conflict with the standards approved under
Subsection (a) or other requirements of this code.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 33.026, 33.027, and 33.028 to read as
follows:
Sec. 33.026. LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL. (a)
The board of trustees of each school district shall 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.
(b) Except as provided by Section 33.027(d), a school
district must consider the recommendations of the local school
library advisory council before:
(1) adding library materials to a school library
catalog;
(2) removing library materials from a school library
catalog following a challenge under Section 33.028; or
(3) making changes to policies or guidelines related
to a school library catalog.
(c) The local school library advisory council's duties
include recommending:
(1) policies and procedures for the acquisition of
library materials consistent with local community values;
(2) library materials appropriate for each grade
level;
(3) if feasible, joint use agreements or strategies
for collaboration between the school district and local public
libraries and community organizations;
(4) the removal of any library materials that the
council determines to be:
(A) harmful material or material containing
indecent content or profane content; or
(B) inconsistent with local community values;
(5) the policies and procedures for processing
challenges received under Section 33.028; and
(6) the action to be taken by the district in response
to a challenge received under Section 33.028.
(d) Any recommendation made by the local school library
advisory council must adhere to the library standards approved
under Section 33.021.
(e) The local school library advisory council must consist
of at least five members, with each member appointed by the board of
trustees, and with each trustee appointing an equal number of
members. A majority of the voting members of the council must be
persons who are parents of students enrolled in the district and who
are not employed by the district. One of those members shall serve
as chair of the council. The board of trustees may also appoint one
or more persons to serve as nonvoting members of the council from
any of the following groups:
(1) classroom teachers employed by the district;
(2) librarians employed by the district;
(3) school counselors certified under Subchapter B,
Chapter 21, employed by the district;
(4) school administrators employed by the district;
(5) district students;
(6) the business community; and
(7) the clergy.
(f) The local school library advisory council shall meet at
least two times each year. For each meeting, the council shall:
(1) at least 72 hours before the meeting:
(A) post notice of the date, hour, place, and
subject of the meeting on a bulletin board in the central
administrative office of each campus in the school district; and
(B) ensure that the notice required under
Paragraph (A) is posted on the district's Internet website, if the
district has an Internet website;
(2) prepare and maintain minutes of the meeting that
state the subject and content of each deliberation and each vote,
order, decision, or other action taken by the council during the
meeting;
(3) make an audio or video recording of the meeting;
and
(4) not later than the 10th day after the meeting,
submit the minutes and audio or video recording of the meeting to
the district.
(g) As soon as practicable after receipt of the minutes and
audio or video recording under Subsection (f)(4), the school
district shall post the minutes and audio or video recording on the
district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
website.
Sec. 33.027. ACQUISITION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS. (a) The
board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a policy for the
acquisition of library materials, including procedures for the
procurement of library materials and the receipt of donated library
materials. The policy must require the board to:
(1) approve all library materials that have been
donated to or that are to be procured by a school library in the
district, with the advice and recommendations of the district's
local school library advisory council established under Section
33.026;
(2) make the list of library materials that have been
donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library
accessible for review by the public for at least 30 days before
final approval;
(3) approve or reject the list of library materials
that have been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a
school library in an open meeting; and
(4) ensure compliance with the library standards
approved under Section 33.021.
(b) Each member of the board of trustees of a school
district is entitled to:
(1) review each list of library materials that have
been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school
library in the district; and
(2) propose changes to each list described by
Subdivision (1) before the board votes to approve or reject the
list.
(c) A school district may not add a donated library material
to the school library catalog or otherwise make the donated library
material available for student use unless the board of trustees of
the district approves the addition of that donated library material
to the school library catalog for the grade levels for which the
material is intended.
(d) This section does not apply to library materials that
have been donated to or that are to be procured by a school library
that:
(1) replace a damaged copy of a library material that
is currently in the school library catalog;
(2) are additional copies of a library material that
is currently in the school library catalog; or
(3) have been approved for the same grade levels by the
board of trustees of the school district from a previous proposed
list of library materials.
Sec. 33.028. CHALLENGE OR APPEAL REGARDING LIBRARY
MATERIALS; LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.
(a) A parent of or person standing in parental relation to a
student enrolled in a school district, a person employed by the
district, or a person residing in the district may submit:
(1) to the district a written challenge to any library
material in the catalog of a school library in the district using
the form adopted under Subsection (c); or
(2) to the district's board of trustees an appeal of an
action taken by the district in response to a written challenge
received under Subdivision (1).
(b) Not later than the fifth day after the date on which a
school district receives a written challenge under Subsection
(a)(1), the district shall provide a copy of the challenge to the
district's local school library advisory council established under
Section 33.026. The council shall make a recommendation for action
by the district not later than the 90th day after the date on which
the council receives the copy.
(b-1) If the procedures recommended by the local school
library advisory council and adopted by the board of trustees
permit the appointment of library material review committees that
consist of persons who are not members of the council to review
materials challenged under Subsection (a)(1), the council may base
the council's recommendation for action to be taken by the district
under Subsection (b) on the recommendation of a library material
review committee if the committee consists of at least five persons
appointed by the board of trustees, a majority of whom are parents
of students enrolled in the school district and are not employed by
the district.
(c) The agency shall adopt and post on the agency's Internet
website a form to be used in making a written challenge under
Subsection (a)(1). Each school district shall post the form on the
district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
website. The form shall require the person submitting the form to
identify how the challenged library material violates the library
standards approved under Section 33.021.
(d) In taking action on a written challenge submitted under
Subsection (a)(1) or an appeal under Subsection (a)(2), the board
of trustees of a school district shall consider:
(1) the advice of the district's local school library
advisory council; and
(2) whether the library material challenged under
Subsection (a)(1) or appealed under Subsection (a)(2) is suitable
for the subject and grade level for which the library material is
intended, including by considering:
(A) whether the material adheres to the library
standards approved under Section 33.021; and
(B) reviews, if any, of the material conducted by
academic experts specializing in the subject covered by the library
material or in the education of students in the subject and grade
level for which the library material is intended.
SECTION 6. It is the intent of the legislature that every
provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to
every person, group of persons, or circumstances, is severable from
each other. If any application of any provision in this Act to any
person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be
invalid for any reason, the remaining applications of that
provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be severed
and may not be affected.
SECTION 7. Before the first day of the 2023-2024 school
year, the board of trustees of each school district shall:
(1) establish and appoint members of the local school
library advisory council as required by Section 33.026, Education
Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) adopt a policy for the acquisition of library
materials as required by Section 33.027, Education Code, as added
by this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.