In August, the district updated its library policy to comply with Senate Bill 13, which became effective this school year following the 2025 legislative session. Under the new policy, the GISD board must vote on new library material purchases and donations after they have been made publicly available to community members on the district’s website.
The overview
SB 13 requires Texas public school boards to vote on the approval of all new library materials before they are purchased by or donated to the district. Districts must publicly post a list of all proposed materials 30 days in advance of when the board is scheduled to take a vote.
GISD adopted a new library policy to comply with the law at its Aug. 18 meeting. The GISD board is expected to vote on a list of over 200 books at its Oct. 20 board meeting, Executive Director of Technology Kim Garcia said at an Oct. 6 board workshop.
Community members may review and comment on proposed library materials posted to the district’s Library Services web page.
How it works
GISD will now adhere to the following process for acquiring new library books:
- Campus librarians will select materials using criteria in the district’s library policy.
- Librarians will submit lists of recommended materials to the district.
- District administrators who supervise library services will review items to ensure they comply with district policy.
- The vetted list of materials will be posted on the district’s library services webpage for 30 days.
- The board must approve or reject the list of materials in an open meeting.
District administrators will share recommendations on which books should be approved and rejected to the board prior to their vote, Superintendent Devin Padavil said.
GISD officials recommended that the board repeat this process monthly, Garcia said.
Notable quote
“I realize that this sounds like a heavy lift,” Garcia told the board at the Oct. 6 workshop. “It is a heavy lift. It's incredibly unusual. We wouldn't come to the board normally to ask for this sort of thing, but the legislation, Senate Bill 13, requires that this is a new approval.”