Preview: Conroe ISD to hold hearing on books, including ‘Speak,’ ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’

At the June 18 meeting, the Conroe ISD board of trustees will conduct a hearing and consider a Level 3 appeal regarding a list of books that are in request for reconsideration.

The details

According to the June 18 agenda, the following books have been requested for reconsideration and will be discussed at the meeting:

• "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
• "Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
• "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
• "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
• "My Sister’s Keeper" by Jodi Picoult
• "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
• "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
• "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
• "Beloved" by Toni Morrison
• "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi
• "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
• "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
• "Girl in Translation" by Jean Kwok
• "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sanchez
• "Salvage the Bones" by Jasmine Ward
• "Sold" by Patricia McCormick
• "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
• "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
• "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead

According to the Texas Association of School Boards, the board must consider the complaint.

“[The board] may give notice of its decision orally or in writing at any time up to and including the next regularly scheduled board meeting,” according to the TASB website.

During a March 19 board meeting, the CISD board of trustees discussed how to make the book review process more transparent, Community Impact previously reported.

What else?

The board will also discuss and take possible action regarding a resolution against changes to Title IX as well as discuss a potential policy focused on gender fluidity and parental notification, according to the June 18 meeting agenda

Previously, the board discussed but did not take a vote on a gender fluidity policy during its May 14 meeting, as reported by Community Impact.

In other news

There will also be discussion of names for the new CISD campuses, including two elementary schools and one high school, as previously shared by Communications Director Sarah Blakelock.

Stay tuned

The CISD board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Deane L. Sadler Administration/Technology Center at 3205 W. Davis St., Conroe. The meetings can also be streamed live via the district’s YouTube channel.