Parents in the Texas Panhandle are questioning why Canyon Independent School District removed Bibles from their students’ campus libraries, and they’re calling for the Good Book to be returned to school library shelves.
Superintendent Darryl Flusche told parents a new Texas law prohibiting sexually explicit books in school libraries required the district to remove the Bible.
One district mom called Flusche’s claim “absurd.”
During a school board meeting on December 9, Canyon ISD mom Regina Kiehne called it ironic that a law designed to remove sexually explicit content from schools also removed the Bible from school library shelves.
“It seems absurd to me that the Good Book was thrown out with the bad books,” Kiehne told the school officials
She cited an article in Fortune magazine indicating that recent anxiety-inducing events have sent Bible sales soaring, especially among Generation Z and younger Americans.
“The Bible holds great value. It should be valued in our Texas school system,” said Kiehne.
The Texas Legislature passed House Bill 900 in 2023 to protect students from content that is sexually explicit, vulgar, or educationally unsuitable.
“The standard for library content prohibits books that have one instance of sexual content as described above,” Flusche wrote in an email responding to questions about the district’s decision to remove the Bible.
“Therefore, HB 900 doesn’t allow numerous books, including the full text of the Bible, to be available in the school library,” he wrote, adding that books containing portions of the Bible are still in campus libraries.
Flusche quoted from HB 900’s section on mandatory library standards:
In this section, ”sexually explicit material” means any communication, language, or material, including a written description, illustration, photographic image, video image, or audio file, other than library material directly related to the curriculum required under Section 28.002(a), that describes, depicts, or portrays sexual conduct, as defined by Section 43.25, Penal Code…
But he omitted the rest of the statute, which specifies that the prohibited sexual conduct is that which is portrayed “in a way that is patently offensive, as defined by Section 43.21, Penal Code.”
Panhandle mom and conservative activist Jamie Haynes also disagrees with how Canyon ISD is applying the new law.
“HB 900 was never intended to remove the Bible from Texas public schools,” Haynes told Texas Scorecard. “Whether this decision was made maliciously, with erroneous counsel, or simply with lack of common sense, the Holy Bible, upon which this nation was founded, needs to be immediately returned to Canyon ISD libraries.”
Flusche said he hoped parents will “share their voice with the legislators concerning HB 900.”
Haynes and others intend to do just that when the new legislative session begins in January.
In addition to starting Texans Wake Up, a group that informs parents about what’s happening inside public schools, Haynes serves on the Republican Party of Texas’ legislative priorities committee Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids.
Kiehne suggested that Canyon ISD parents who want the Bible returned to school libraries should contact State Rep. John Smithee (R–Amarillo).
Canyon ISD families can also contact the superintendent and school board members.
The district serves students in the Canyon and Amarillo areas of Randall County.
“Let’s get our Bibles back on the library bookshelves,” Kiehne concluded.
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