Bill Text: TX HB5251 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to a school district's library materials and catalog, the creation of local school library advisory councils, and parental rights regarding public school library catalogs and access by the parent's child to library materials and to affirmative defenses to prosecution for certain offenses involving material or conduct that is obscene or otherwise harmful to children.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-24 - Referred to State Affairs [HB5251 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB5251-Introduced.html

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88R15353 PRL-F
By: Toth H.B. No. 5251

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a school district's library materials and catalog, the
creation of local school library advisory councils, and parental
rights regarding public school library catalogs and access by the
parent's child to library materials and to affirmative defenses to
prosecution for certain offenses involving material or conduct that
is obscene or otherwise harmful to children.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 26.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A parent is entitled to access to all written records of
a school district concerning the parent's child, including:
(1) attendance records;
(2) test scores;
(3) grades;
(4) disciplinary records;
(5) counseling records;
(6) psychological records;
(7) applications for admission;
(8) health and immunization information;
(9) teacher and school counselor evaluations;
(10) reports of behavioral patterns; [and]
(11) records relating to assistance provided for
learning difficulties, including information collected regarding
any intervention strategies used with the child; and
(12) records relating to school library materials the
child obtains from a school library.
SECTION 2. Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding
Section 26.017 to read as follows:
Sec. 26.017. NOTICE REGARDING SCHOOL LIBRARY MATERIALS.
(a) Before each school year, a school district shall provide
written notice to a parent of each child enrolled in the district
regarding the option to receive notice each time the child obtains a
school library material from a school library in the district.
(b) For each parent who elects to receive notice under
Subsection (a), the school district shall notify the parent by
e-mail each time the parent's child obtains a school library
material from a school library in the district. The notice must
include, as applicable, the title, author, genre, and return date
of the school library material.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.020 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.020. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Harmful material" has the meaning assigned by
Section 43.24, Penal Code.
(2) "Library material" means any book, record, file,
or other instrument or document in a school district's library
catalog. The term does not include instructional material, as
defined by Section 31.002.
SECTION 4. Section 33.021, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 33.021. LIBRARY STANDARDS. (a) The Texas State
Library and Archives Commission[, in consultation with the State
Board of Education,] shall submit proposed [adopt] standards for
school library services to the State Board of Education for
approval or disapproval.
(b) The standards approved under Subsection (a) must
include a collection development policy that:
(1) prohibits the acquisition or retention of harmful
material; and
(2) demonstrates a commitment to compliance with the
Children's Internet Protection Act (Pub. L. No. 106-554),
including through the use of technology protection measures, as
defined by that Act.
(c) A school district shall adhere to [consider] the
standards approved under Subsection (a) in developing,
implementing, or expanding library services.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 33.026, 33.027, and 33.028 to read as
follows:
Sec. 33.026. LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL. (a)
The board of trustees of each school district shall establish a
local school library advisory council to assist the district in
ensuring that local community values are reflected in each school
library catalog in the district.
(b) A school district must consider the recommendations of
the local school library advisory council before making changes to
a school library catalog.
(c) The local school library advisory council's duties
include recommending:
(1) policies and procedures for the procurement of
library materials consistent with local community values;
(2) library materials appropriate for each grade
level;
(3) if feasible, joint use agreements or strategies
for collaboration between the school district and local public
libraries and community organizations;
(4) the removal of any library materials that the
council determines to be:
(A) harmful material; or
(B) inconsistent with local community values;
and
(5) the action to be taken by the district in response
to a challenge received under Section 33.028.
(d) Any recommendation made by the local school library
advisory council must adhere to the library standards approved
under Section 33.021.
(e) The board of trustees shall appoint at least five
members to the local school library advisory council. A majority of
the members must be persons who are parents of students enrolled in
the district and who are not employed by the district. One of those
members shall serve as chair of the council. The board of trustees
may also appoint one or more persons to serve as nonvoting members
of the council from each of the following groups:
(1) classroom teachers employed by the district;
(2) librarians employed by the district;
(3) school counselors certified under Subchapter B,
Chapter 21, employed by the district;
(4) school administrators employed by the district;
(5) district students;
(6) the business community; and
(7) the clergy.
(f) The local school library advisory council shall meet at
least two times each year. For each meeting, the council shall:
(1) at least 72 hours before the meeting:
(A) post notice of the date, hour, place, and
subject of the meeting on a bulletin board in the central
administrative office of each campus in the school district; and
(B) ensure that the notice required under
Paragraph (A) is posted on the district's Internet website, if the
district has an Internet website;
(2) prepare and maintain minutes of the meeting that
state the subject and content of each deliberation and each vote,
order, decision, or other action taken by the council during the
meeting;
(3) make an audio or video recording of the meeting;
and
(4) not later than the 10th day after the meeting,
submit the minutes and audio or video recording of the meeting to
the district.
(g) As soon as practicable after receipt of the minutes and
audio or video recording under Subsection (f)(4), the school
district shall post the minutes and audio or video recording on the
district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
website.
Sec. 33.027. PROCUREMENT OF LIBRARY MATERIALS. (a) The
board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a policy for the
procurement of library materials. The policy must require the
board to:
(1) approve all library materials to be procured by a
school library in the district, with the advice and recommendations
of the district's local school library advisory council established
under Section 33.026;
(2) make the list of library materials proposed to be
procured accessible for review by the public for at least 30 days
before final approval;
(3) approve or reject the list of library materials
proposed to be procured in an open meeting; and
(4) ensure compliance with the library standards
approved under Section 33.021.
(b) Each member of the board of trustees of a school
district is entitled to:
(1) review each list of library materials proposed to
be procured for a school library in the district; and
(2) propose changes to each list described by
Subdivision (1) before the board votes to approve or reject the
list.
Sec. 33.028. CHALLENGE OR APPEAL REGARDING LIBRARY
MATERIALS; LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.
(a) A parent of or person standing in parental relation to a
student enrolled in a school district or a person residing in the
district may submit:
(1) to the district a written challenge to any library
material in the catalog of a school library in the district using
the form adopted under Subsection (c); or
(2) to the district's board of trustees an appeal of an
action taken by the district in response to a written challenge
received under Subdivision (1).
(b) Not later than the fifth day after the date on which a
school district receives a written challenge under Subsection
(a)(1), the district shall provide a copy of the challenge to the
district's local school library advisory council established under
Section 33.026. The council shall make a recommendation for action
by the district not later than the 90th day after the date on which
the council receives the copy.
(c) The agency shall adopt and post on the agency's Internet
website a form to be used in making a written challenge under
Subsection (a)(1). Each school district shall post the form on the
district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
website. The form shall require the person submitting the form to
identify how the challenged library material violates the library
standards approved under Section 33.021.
(d) In taking action on a written challenge submitted under
Subsection (a)(1) or an appeal under Subsection (a)(2), the board
of trustees of a school district shall consider:
(1) the advice of the district's local school library
advisory council; and
(2) whether the library material challenged under
Subsection (a)(1) or appealed under Subsection (a)(2) is suitable
for the subject and grade level for which the library material is
intended, including by considering:
(A) whether the material adheres to the library
standards approved under Section 33.021; and
(B) reviews, if any, of the material conducted by
academic experts specializing in the subject covered by the library
material or in the education of students in the subject and grade
level for which the library material is intended.
SECTION 6. Section 43.24(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section that the sale, distribution, or exhibition was by a person
having a bona fide judicial, law enforcement, or legislative
[scientific, educational, governmental, or other similar]
justification.
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 8. Before the first day of the 2023-2024 school
year, the board of trustees of each school district shall:
(1) establish and appoint members of the local school
library advisory council as required by Section 33.026, Education
Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) adopt a policy for the procurement of library
materials as required by Section 33.027, Education Code, as added
by this Act.
SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.