An “implementation FAQ” circulated by the Texas Library Association informed school librarians they do not have to remove existing books that violate Senate Bill 13’s new content standards—guidance that conflicts with both the text of the law and its author’s stated intent.
In a document for school librarians statewide, TLA answers the question, “Will I have to remove materials that were previously purchased that do not meet these guidelines?” with a flat “No,” adding, “The law does not require a review or removal of existing library materials purchased following the district’s approved collection development policies.”
That assertion sits uneasily next to SB 13’s mandate that districts “prohibit the possession, acquisition, and purchase” of library materials that are harmful, sexually explicit, pervasively vulgar, or educationally unsuitable, or that contain “indecent content or profane content,” as defined in statute and by FCC standards.
SB 13, authored by State Sen. Angela Paxton (R–McKinney), overhauls how Texas school districts select, approve, and handle challenges to library materials. The law also creates new definitions and prohibitions aimed at keeping sexually explicit and other inappropriate content out of school libraries.
Among other things, the law:
- Defines “indecent content” and “profane content” and requires every district’s collection-development policy to ban library materials that fall into those categories, along with “harmful material” and books that are pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable.
- Directs districts and, where created, local school library advisory councils to recommend “the removal of any library materials that the council determines to be harmful material or material containing indecent content or profane content that is inconsistent with local community values or age appropriateness.”
- Requires that when a parent or other eligible person files a written challenge to a library material, students must be blocked from accessing the book while the challenge is pending; if the board decides to remove it, the title must be pulled from the district catalog and any classroom libraries.
State guidance from the Texas Education Agency similarly emphasizes that “no library material shall be used” if it is harmful, obscene, pervasively vulgar, educationally unsuitable, or contains indecent or profane content, and that districts’ policies must prohibit “possession, acquisition, and purchase” of such material.
Despite those provisions, TLA’s FAQ tells districts they have no obligation to look backward at what is already on the shelves.
In the general compliance section, the group states that the law “does not require a review or removal of existing library materials” that were purchased under district collection policies. According to TLA, districts also “do not have to review books currently in the collection to make sure they comply with new definitions and standards.”
On acquisitions, TLA correctly notes that SB 13 requires a public list and school board approval for most new titles, with narrow exemptions for exact-ISBN replacements and extra copies, and that all donated books must be treated like purchases and run through the same process. But by assuring librarians that existing stock is effectively grandfathered in unless and until someone files a formal challenge, the association is signaling a very narrow, complaint-driven approach to removal.
In a statement to Texas Scorecard responding to the FAQ, Paxton made clear she does not read her own bill as allowing districts to keep profane, indecent, or sexually explicit material simply because it was acquired pre-SB 13.
According to Paxton, “If a parent brings a challenge to a book that is in the current library catalog that doesn’t meet guidelines, it must be removed.”
“In addition, the book cannot be accessible to students while the book is undergoing the review process to determine if it meets the standards or not,” Paxton wrote. “We are counting on parents’ continued vigilance about both what is currently in school libraries and what is proposed to be acquired.”
That interpretation tracks the statutory requirement that challenged materials be blocked from student access during review and that the board, with any advisory council’s recommendation, decide whether to retain or remove the book based on the new statewide standards.
If the book is found to contain harmful, indecent, or profane content inconsistent with local community values or age appropriateness, SB 13 requires removal from the catalog and any classroom.
Nothing in SB 13 explicitly orders districts to conduct a full, proactive audit of every existing library item, and both TLA’s FAQ and the TEA’s guidance acknowledge the law does not mandate a wholesale review of current collections.
However, the statute also doesn’t carve out a blanket safe harbor for books acquired under prior policies. Instead, it applies the new definitions and prohibitions to “all library materials” in a district’s catalog, whether print or digital, going forward.
Additionally, it creates a parent and community-driven challenge process, combined with a mandate to remove materials that violate the new standards once identified.
That means districts that simply leave questionable books on shelves and hope no one notices are betting that parents, staff, or community members will not use the new challenge mechanism. It also means that once a problematic title is flagged—by a parent review group, a watchdog, or a teacher—the district cannot hide behind the “it was purchased before SB 13” defense. If the board ultimately finds the material is harmful, sexually explicit, or contains indecent or profane content under the law, it must be removed.
While TLA’s FAQ reads the law in the narrowest way possible—minimizing any affirmative duty to scrutinize existing shelves—the statute arms parents with:
- A standardized challenge form (to be issued by the TEA) that must be posted on every district’s website.
- A guarantee that students cannot access a challenged book while it is under review.
- A requirement that the school board act on challenges in an open meeting and either retain or remove the material in line with the statewide standards.
In other words, under SB 13, parents who document profane, indecent, sexually explicit, or otherwise prohibited content in a school library book have a legal lever to force districts to choose: comply with the new standards and remove it, or defy the statute in public view and risk legal and political consequences.
TLA did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s request for comment before publication.
