The parental control feature comes months after the board of trustees approved a new library policy recognizing a parent’s involvement in their student’s library selections.
Current situation
On Aug. 30, the district announced that parents may browse the library book collection at their child’s school, view their current checkouts and restrict access to specific materials through the district’s online library catalog, Follett Destiny.
Previously, parents had to contact their child’s school librarian to block a book title, said Amanda Prehn, LTISD director of curriculum and instruction, at a July 17 board of trustees meeting.
Parents can log into Follett Destiny through the email address that is associated with their student’s primary guardian in Skyward Family Access, according to district information.
Click here to view the district’s step-by-step instructions for logging into the platform.
In their own words
“By tailoring library access, we aim to create a learning environment that aligns with your family’s preferences,” Prehn said in a letter posted on the district’s website. “We encourage you to utilize these tools to foster meaningful discussions with your child about their library selections.”
In July, the district adopted a new library policy in alignment with House Bill 900—a state law that went into effect in September prohibiting sexually explicit material in public schools.
The LTISD library policy bans “harmful” or “obscene” material that is “pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable,” recognizes a parent's role in their child's library choices, and revises the reconsideration process for challenged library books, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
In case you missed it
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.
