What to know
Carrie Galatas, CISD's general legal counsel, presented several suggested changes to the current policies. The changes address concerns expressed by several trustees at the Aug. 20 board meeting after they learned that some books removed from school library shelves were used for AP classes and the AP exam.
The proposed revision in the agenda packet addresses the issue of students not being able to obtain required material, stating, “A parent/guardian of a student in a college level course may give written permission to access a book not available in the school library classroom collection."
Another proposed change deals with the criteria for removing library materials, stating, "No challenged library material shall be removed solely because of the ideas expressed therein, the personal background of the library material’s author or the personal background of the characters in the material."
The district updated its library policies in 2023 in response to House Bill 900, which prevents students from accessing inappropriate materials at school and increases transparency for parents, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
How we got here
In June, the board upheld prior restrictions issued on 19 books by its own book review committee, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The board ultimately voted 5-2 to maintain restrictions on all 19 books such as "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison and "Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky.
What they’re saying
“I’m hoping we can come together as a board and correct the policy, to close the gaps that we saw,” trustee Stacey Chase said.
“We aren’t being held by legal law standard right now for the vendors to rate our books but we are being held accountable by law for the content of those books that they meet by state law,” trustee Misty Odenweller said.
What’s next
The next board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Deane L. Sadler Administration/Technology Center at 3205 W. Davis St. in Conroe.
