The LTISD board of trustees approved the policy at a July 17 meeting months after voting to remove some challenged books from district library shelves. At the meeting, district officials discussed allowing parents to restrict books from their child on the district’s online library catalog.
Zooming out
The district adopted two new policies separating how instructional materials and library materials may be selected or challenged as opposed to the previous policy, which applied to both types of resources.
The new library policy includes the following updates:
- Recognizes a parent's role in their child's library choices
- Creates an expedited process to review library materials containing harmful or obscene content
- Details an expanded reconsideration committee process
- Solidifies the reconsideration appeal process
- Incorporates state library standards adopted by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Zooming in
The policy highlights a parent's involvement selecting library materials for their children. Although staff may assist students in self-selecting books, “the ultimate determination of appropriateness remains with the student and parent or guardian,” the policy reads.
The district will focus on improving transparency with parents who are encouraged to participate in “library acquisition, maintenance and campus activities,” according to the policy. Parents may access a school library by submitting a request to their student’s principal or view the district’s library catalog online.
LTISD is hoping to launch a new parental control feature by the beginning of the 2024-25 school year so parents can restrict books for their students through the virtual library catalog instead of contacting school librarians, said Amanda Prehn, LTISD director of curriculum and instruction. Some board members have requested the district make it easier for parents to search books by certain topics, including language and LGBTQ+ issues.
“We owe it to our parents to give them what they want and that is what they want. We cannot ignore that,” Place 4 board member John Aoueille said. “They want to be able to figure out what is in their library.”
How it works
If a parent or community member wishes to challenge the appropriateness of a book for all students, a librarian or administrator may resolve the issue informally by explaining the district’s selection process and offering an alternative material. Parents may then formally challenge a book through a form on the district’s website.
Under the new policy, LTISD will form a districtwide pool of volunteers to participate in reconsideration committees, including parents, campus librarians, instructional staff and administration. Interested individuals must apply and sign a volunteer agreement to participate in the committee for one school year.
The reconsideration committee has a maximum of 30 district business days to decide whether a library material should remain on district shelves and prepare a written report. The district recently began posting these reports on its website, Prehn said.
Once the committee has reached a final decision on a book, it may not be reviewed again for two calendar years. Unlike the previous policy proposal, the district cannot restrict access to a library book while it is in the process of being challenged, except if parents request doing so for their children, according to the policy.
If a complainant appeals the reconsideration committee's decision, the book will be reviewed by district administrators or may advance to the board of trustees.
How we got here
Last year, the district launched an online form allowing community members to challenge library books and see books under review, and proposed a new library policy two months after HB 900 went into effect.
At a Nov. 15 board meeting, the board voted to remove "I Never" by Laura Hopper from Lake Travis High School, transfer "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson from middle school libraries to the high school and move "Bodies Are Cool" by Tyler Feder from elementary school libraries to the teacher and staff collection.
The books were challenged by LTISD parent Jodie Dover who appealed three separate decisions of a district committee and two administrators to keep the books at their respective campuses.
The board addressed two additional book challenges by Dover at a March 20 meeting, voting to remove the young adult novel “The Haters” by Jesse Andrews from Lake Travis High School while keeping “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by the same author. In March, Dover said she had challenged 25 books over the last 14 months.
Dozens of community members, including students, teachers and parents, have attended board meetings to speak both for and against removing certain books from campus libraries.
