Tag Archives: school libraries

Book ban law stays blocked

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Key portions of a law signed last year by Gov. Greg Abbott requiring booksellers to rate books for sexual content when selling to schools will not go into effect after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declined … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged American Booksellers Association, Angela Paxton, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Blue Willow Bookshop, BookPeople, Books, censorship, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Election 2024, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, HD106, Jared Patterson, Keven Ellis, lawsuit, Martha Wong, Mike Morath, SBOE, school libraries, SCOTUS, SD08, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, The Lege | 1 Comment

Fifth Circuit upholds injunction in book rating lawsuit

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday blocked a new Texas law that requires bookstores to rate books for sexual content and prohibits any deemed “sexually explicit” from the state’s public schools. A panel of three judges … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged American Booksellers Association, Angela Paxton, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Blue Willow Bookshop, BookPeople, Books, censorship, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Election 2024, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, HD106, Jared Patterson, Keven Ellis, lawsuit, Martha Wong, Mike Morath, SBOE, school libraries, SD08, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, The Lege | 3 Comments

Fifth Circuit has its book rating lawsuit hearing

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It looks like it might have…gone well? I am cautiously hopeful. Federal appellate judges Wednesday questioned a new Texas law requiring book sellers to rate the explicitness and relevance of sexual references in materials they sell to schools, though it … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged American Booksellers Association, Angela Paxton, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Blue Willow Bookshop, BookPeople, Books, censorship, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Election 2024, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, HD106, Jared Patterson, Keven Ellis, lawsuit, Martha Wong, Mike Morath, SBOE, school libraries, SD08, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, The Lege | 1 Comment

Two book ban updates

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Bad news. A state law banning “sexually explicit” books from Texas schools will now go into effect, after an appeals court temporarily blocked a lower court ruling. The three-judge panel did not offer any reasoning. Their decision is temporary until … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Legal matters | Tagged American Booksellers Association, Angela Paxton, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Blue Willow Bookshop, BookPeople, Books, censorship, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Dawn Champagne, Election 2024, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, HD106, Jared Patterson, Katy, Katy ISD, Keven Ellis, lawsuit, libraries, Martha Wong, Mike Morath, Rebecca Fox, SBOE, school libraries, schools, SD08, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, The Lege, Victor Perez | Comments Off

Katy ISD’s book banning

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What are these people doing? Katy Independent School District has remained silent on the reasons 14 additional books were removed from shelves and how the district’s book review policy is being implemented, despite a public pledge of transparency on book … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged censorship, Katy, Katy ISD, libraries, Rebecca Fox, school libraries, schools, Texas, Victor Perez | 2 Comments

Book ban lawsuit opinion released

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a strong one, not that that will mean anything to the troglodyte nihilists at the Fifth Circuit. In temporarily blocking enforcement of a new Texas law that limits books with sexual content in school libraries, a federal judge called … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Legal matters | Tagged American Booksellers Association, Angela Paxton, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Blue Willow Bookshop, BookPeople, Books, censorship, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Election 2024, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, HD106, Jared Patterson, Keven Ellis, lawsuit, Martha Wong, Mike Morath, SBOE, school libraries, SD08, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, The Lege | 6 Comments

Book rating law blocked

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge said Thursday he will stop a new Texas law aimed at keeping sexually explicit materials off of school library shelves on the eve of the law going into effect, according to state attorneys and lawyers for … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Legal matters | Tagged American Booksellers Association, Angela Paxton, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Blue Willow Bookshop, BookPeople, Books, censorship, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Election 2024, HD106, Jared Patterson, Keven Ellis, lawsuit, Martha Wong, Mike Morath, SBOE, school libraries, SD08, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, The Lege | 1 Comment

Special ed is part of the HISD takeover, too

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that fixing special education was also part of the TEA takeover mandate for HISD. How’s that going so far? Well, the parents of the special ed kids say they’re not seeing much of anything as yet. For … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Board of Managers, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Houston Special Education Parent Association, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Mike Morath, Office of Special Education Programs, school libraries, special education, Texas, Texas Education Agency, US Department of Education | Comments Off

The bookstores’ view of the book rating lawsuit

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some useful context from one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit challenging a new “book rating” law. When Valerie Koehler bought Blue Willow Bookshop, she wanted to offer an expansive selection of children’s books. “We made it our mission to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Legal matters | Tagged American Booksellers Association, Angela Paxton, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Blue Willow Bookshop, BookPeople, Books, censorship, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Election 2024, HD106, Jared Patterson, Keven Ellis, lawsuit, Martha Wong, Mike Morath, SBOE, school libraries, SD08, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, The Lege | Comments Off

Federal judge temporarily blocks Arkansas book censorship law

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully a good omen. On Saturday, a federal judge in Arkansas temporarily blocked a new law that would have allowed local prosecutors to file felony charges against school and public librarians who loaned out material considered considered “harmful to minors.” The law—which also … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Arkansas, Books, censorship, lawsuit, libraries, school libraries, Texas | Comments Off

Mayor Turner criticizes HISD’s library removals

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday blasted Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ plan to close dozens of school libraries and turn them into discipline rooms, alleging it was targeted at “selected communities.” In an impassioned speech at City Council, … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged Board of Managers, Election 2023, HISD, HISD Board of Trustees, Houston, Mayor, Mike Miles, Mike Morath, Millard House, New Education System, reading, school libraries, standardized testing, Sylvester Turner, Texas Association of School Librarians, Texas Education Agency | 8 Comments

Booksellers sue over new book rating law

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

These lawsuits, they are starting to pile up. A coalition of Texas bookstores and national bookseller associations filed suit on Tuesday over House Bill 900, which aims to ban sexually explicit material from school libraries. HB 900 passed in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged American Booksellers Association, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Blue Willow Bookshop, BookPeople, Books, censorship, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Keven Ellis, lawsuit, Martha Wong, Mike Morath, SBOE, school libraries, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, The Lege | 2 Comments

City to sue over mandatory arbitration law

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Add it to what is likely to be a substantive list. Houston city attorneys said Monday they plan to challenge the constitutionality of a new Texas law that gives Houston firefighters mandatory arbitration in their long-running contract stalemate. Lowell Denton, … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics, That's our Lege | Tagged ACLU of Texas, arbitration, censorship, drag shows, Election 2023, elections administrator, Harris County, HFD, Houston, HPFFA, John Whitmire, lawsuit, libraries, local control, school chaplains, school libraries, Supreme Court, Sylvester Turner, Texas, The Lege, transgender rights | 18 Comments

A long look at Spring Branch ISD

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing goes deep. With only a week left before the May 6 election, school-board candidate David Lopez and a team of volunteers set out to block walk in the Spring Branch neighborhoods north of Interstate 10, trying to accomplish … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, School days | Tagged Board of Managers, censorship, David Lopez, demography, Election 2023, HISD, lawsuit, libraries, school libraries, SCOTUS, single member districts, Spring Branch, Texas, Virginia Elizondo, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

A “who not to vote for” guide in Katy ISD

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

For your information. The Katy ISD school board race has taken a sharp political turn as some candidates vying for the nonpartisan position accepted Republican party endorsements and appeared on flyers that attacked their opponents as “far left” supporters of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged Amy Thieme, Bruce Bradford, censorship, Cicely Taylor, Election 2023, endorsements, Katy, Katy ISD, libraries, Mary Ellen Cuzela, Morgan Calhoun, school libraries, Shana Peterson, TASB, Texas | Comments Off

Spring Branch ISD to discuss a book ban today

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t post stuff like this often – it’s not really my remit, and timeliness usually works against me – but this one really annoyed me, so here it is. Via Facebook: PLEASE CONSIDER SPEAKING ON TUESDAY @ 1PM! (If … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged activism, Books, censorship, Houston, school libraries, schools, Spring Branch, Texas | Comments Off

Department of Education investigating removal of LGBTQ books from Texas school library

Posted on December 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The U.S. Education Department’s civil rights enforcement arm has launched an investigation into a North Texas school district whose superintendent was secretly recorded ordering librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed library books. Education and legal experts say the federal probe of … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged ACLU, Carroll ISD, censorship, gay rights, Granbury, Granbury OSD, Jeremy Glenn, Keller, Keller ISD, PEN America, school libraries, schools, Texas, transgender rights, US Department of Education | 3 Comments

The book ban requests are coming from inside the house

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Typical “grassroots” campaign. The wave of book reviews and removals that swept across Texas in the last year was driven more by politicians than parents, a Houston Chronicle analysis found, contradicting claims that recent book bans were the result of … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged abortion, censorship, critical race theory, gay rights, Matt Krause, school libraries, schools, Texas, Texas Library Association, The Lege, transgender rights | Comments Off

Lawsuit filed over Llano County libraries

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is going to be something to watch. Seven Llano County residents filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the county judge, commissioners, library board members and library systems director for restricting and banning books from its three-branch public library system. … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged ACLU of Texas, censorship, lawsuit, libraries, Llano County, Matt Krause, North East ISD, San Antonio, school libraries, schools, Texas, Texas Library Association | 4 Comments

Students against banning books

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. For high school senior Gabrielle Izu, Texas’ public school book bans feel personal. The books Texas is targeting — mainly novels that focus on discussions of race, sexual orientation and gender identity … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged gay rights, Greg Abbott, Katy ISD, Ken Paxton, Matt Krause, school libraries, schools, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

It’s mostly about the gay books

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Color me not surprised. While a Texas House committee chairman’s inquiry into schoolbooks has often been linked to new state laws limiting how teachers address slavery and racism, most of the literature he’s called into question deals with a wholly … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Austin ISD, Bryan Hughes, critical race theory, Dallas ISD, Donna Howard, Election 2022, gay rights, Greg Abbott, HISD, Ken Paxton, Mary Gonzalez, Matt Krause, school libraries, schools, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, transgender rights | 3 Comments

Let’s have us a book burning!

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That’s where we’re headed. Gov. Greg Abbott told the Texas Education Agency on Wednesday to investigate criminal activity related to “the availability of pornography” in public schools, saying that the agency should refer such instances “for prosecution to the fullest … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged gay rights, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, Matt Krause, SBOE, school libraries, schools, TDCAA, Texas, Texas Education Agency, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, transgender rights | 5 Comments

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