What is HB 900 and how does it effect me?

HB 900 requires TSLAC (Texas State Library and Archives Commission) to establish collection development standards, approved by SBOE (State Board of Education), that would be mandatory for all school districts. Book sellers will be required to rate and define books as having "sexually explicit" material or "sexually relevant" material if this bill passes. Books rated "sexually explicit" will not be allowed to be purchased by school librarians. Books rated "sexually relevant" requires written parental consent before allowing students to access this material in school libraries. Not only will this new law effect bookstores and school libraries, it will greatly effect the students in these schools. They are being told what they are and are not allowed to read and being given limited access to titles that may represent themselves.

For example, Judy Bloom's Are you there God? It's Me Margaret, a kid's classic, could be classified as "sexually relevant" because of it's portrayal of a young girl confronting early-adolescent anxieties, such as menstruation.  Or titles such as,  All Boys Aren't Blue or the Heartstopper series, which are coming-of-age stories that discuss sex, will most likely be deemed as "sexually explicit" and will not be allowed in school libraries.

How it impacts bookstores

Annually, vendors (which impact small, independent bookstores as well as major book sellers) must provide a list of every book they have sold to the school district that contained "sexually relevant" or "sexually explicit" materials to the TEA(Texas Education Agency), which will then post those lists on the websites. Moreover, the vendor must issue a recall for all copies of materials rated "sexually explicit" that are in active use by the district or school. Even if the rating system wasn't entirely problematic, simply from a pragmatic standpoint, abiding by these strict guidelines would be nearly impossible-resulting in access to far fewer books than in the past.

How it impacts libraries and students

Most vendors (other than publishers) are not content creators and rely on professional reviews and information provided by the publishers to describe and categorize the books they sell-they do not have the expertise to rate books. Even if these book sellers did have the time and resources to rate these books as being "sexually explicit" or "sexually relevant" these guidelines are subjective to each book seller. The vendors are to have all books sold to districts that are still in active use, rated by September 1st. Therefore, it is a real possibility that students would not have new library books in the 2023-2024 school year.

Now is the time to act

This bill would threaten librarians with criminal prosecution for just doing their jobs and invite frivolous lawsuits by removing the exemptions from prosecution from the Texas Penal Code. Again, this legislation will likely result in self-censorship and will have a chilling effect on the freedom to read, and students’ access to legal and constitutionally protected materials. We URGE you to contact state lawmakers and tell them to oppose bill Texas HB 900 as soon as possible, as this bill is expected to the house VERY soon.

Sign this petition then use the link below to Urge Your State Lawmakers to Oppose Censorship Bills.  https://www.bookweb.org/advocacy?vvsrc=%2FCampaigns%2F103635%2FRespond

Additional Resources

• https://www.instagram.com/p/CqWlEj5M-zv/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D 
  
• https://www.bookweb.org/advocacy?vvsrc=%2FCampaigns%2F103635%2FRespond  
• https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/31/texas-school-library-books/?utm_source=articleshare&utm_medium=social
• https://texansfortherighttoread.com/social-toolkit/