Propelled by Parent Activists, More States Ban Sexually Explicit Books From Schools

Some activists express hope that a new Texas law will be used as a national model

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (C) poses for a photo with members of Moms for America on April 11, 2023. (Courtesy of Moms for America)

Activists and conservative lawmakers are celebrating their latest win in the fight to give parents control over whether sexually explicit materials can be made available to children at public schools.

In their latest victory, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed hard-fought GOP-backed legislation on June 12 to restrict sexually explicit books from public schools in his state.

Now, conservatives hope the new Texas law can be used as a national model to give parents in other states more control. The Texas law, House Bill 900, was dubbed the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources Act or READER Act. The push to adopt it was led by state Rep. Jared Patterson, a Republican, along with parents and conservative activist groups throughout the Lone Star State.

The law will prohibit books that are “sexually explicit” or “pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable” in the state’s public schools through grade 12.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shares his plans for school choice at Power Empowerment Night in Tyler, Texas, on March 10, 2023. (Courtesy Office of the Governor)

The measure regulates library books for schools in two ways.

One provision requires the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to develop mandatory material standards by Jan. 1, 2024, for approval by the State Board of Education. The new system is to be fully functional by September 2024.

The other makes book vendors that sell to school libraries responsible for following the new material standards. They'll be required to rate the books based on specific criteria.

Ratings involving sexual material would fall under the categories of “sexually explicit” or “sexually relevant.” Sexually explicit books will be banned and removed by schools under the new Texas law.

‘Sexually Relevant’ Books Can Stay

Sexually relevant books will be allowed in schools, but with restrictions. Parents will need to opt-in if they want to allow their students access to those materials, Patterson told The Epoch Times.

Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson. (Courtesy of Jared Patterson)

Patterson’s efforts to pass HB 900 came after months of helping parents fight school districts in North Texas to remove explicit library books, such as “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” That book portrays a young girl protesting and crying as a boy forces her to perform a sex act.

Texas parents began flocking to school board meetings last year in protest of library books that included graphic images and descriptions of rape, incest, and sexual acts.

Patterson thanked fellow Republicans, including Gov. Abbott and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, for supporting “model legislation for the rest of the country.” Passage of the new law stemmed from 18 months of work by Texas parents who stood up “against the insanity” of inappropriate books, Patterson said.

“As the bill’s author in Texas, I'll provide whatever support possible to see the READER Act become law in every state across the country!” Patterson posted on Twitter.

Patterson said he’s confident the new law, to be implemented in stages, will withstand legal scrutiny from groups that portray the measure as an attack on LGBT rights, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The issue is solely about “obscene content” not protected by the First Amendment, he said.

Lin-Dai Kendall holds a sign at a rally outside Luther Jackson Middle School before a Fairfax County Public Schools board meeting in Falls Church, Va., on Sept. 15, 2022. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

The law was crafted based on a 1980s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Island Trees School District v. Pico, Patterson said. In that case, the court ruled that school board officials can remove books for vulgarity or educational unsuitability, he said.

It was also based on another high court decision in the 1970s case of the Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, he said. In that case, justices ruled that the FCC was allowed to regulate indecent speech regarding minors, he said.

A Model for Other States

Gen. Michael Flynn, briefly a U.S. National Security Advisor under former President Donald Trump, also thanked Texas and groups like Moms for America in a Twitter post for working to pass the law.

Moms for America founder Kimberly Fletcher now hopes the bill will serve as a model for other states,

Kimberly Fletcher, founder and president of Moms for America. (Courtesy of Moms for America)

Many teachers who’ve spoken to her group say they’re just as unhappy and disgusted as parents about sexually explicit materials in schools, Fletcher told The Epoch Times.

Basing the bill on the FCC standards case was an effective strategy, she said.

“It’s pretty simple,” she said. “If you can’t show it on TV, and you can’t [put it] on the radio, you can’t have it in the classroom.”

Moms for America made a similar push for legislation in Louisiana, where a bill was passed by both chambers.

It’s been delivered to Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, for possible signature. But Edwards told local media he wasn’t sure the bill was needed, throwing its passage into law into question.

Less encompassing than the Texas bill, the Louisiana measure would restrict minors’ access to material it defines as sexually explicit.

If it passes, libraries would have to create a card system to allow parents to block their children from checking out books deemed inappropriate.

Libraries also would have to adopt policy language to limit minors’ access to material that describes “sexual conduct.”

In Tennessee this spring, lawmakers passed a bill aimed at vendors and publishers. It holds book publishers criminally liable if the material is deemed obscene.

It was signed into law by Republican Gov. Bill Lee and will go into effect on July 1.

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