A group of parents and community advocates spoke at Thursday night’s Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board meeting to raise concerns about sexually explicit and profane books available in district school libraries.
Among the speakers were Pastor Rick Scarborough, Vanessa Sivadge, Denise Bell, and Bonnie Wallace, who joined local residents in calling for stronger content-review standards for HISD library books. HISD is the largest public school district in Texas.
Wallace, a high-profile leader in Texas, attempted to read an excerpt from A Court of Silver Flames, one of the contested books aloud. Board members instructed her to stop, citing meeting decorum rules, gave her two warnings, and then had her escorted from the room by police after returning to her seat.
According to Wallace, she was invited in 2024 by Pastor Richard Vega, who recently won the Republican primary for Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 2, to inform a group of citizens about harmful content accessible to minors in Houston ISD.
Following that meeting, the entire group attended an HISD board meeting, where each read from books on the school library shelves. Not a single one of those speakers or books was removed.
Regarding last night’s meeting, Wallace said she “was hopeful that Superintendent Miles would listen carefully and then approach this problem with the solution which has already been provided by the Texas Legislature with both HB900 and SB13.”
Critics have long argued that if board members deemed book content too explicit for adults in a public meeting, it should not be accessible to students. Supporters of parental review policies echoed calls for increased oversight of school materials and adherence to state laws governing age-appropriate content. Wallace is resolute: “Books that contain profane, indecent, or sexually explicit content are illegal in Texas public schools.”
She also contends that the actions taken by HISD officials compound the problem. “School boards shut down dialogue and insist that the excerpts read to them are inappropriate. We must do better.”
In a post following the meeting, Bell wrote, “We must take action to protect our children from harmful content; they deserve the best literature possible, not filth. Following the law is a requirement, not a suggestion.”
Each speaker was allotted one minute to address the board.
According to Bell, her prepared statement included a plan to read a passage from The Haters, a young adult novel currently available in several HISD high schools. She described the book as containing “196 F-bombs” and said it was inappropriate for teenagers.
The Texas Education Agency, when asked about HISD’s actions, said that it was a local matter. HISD officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The article will be updated with comments should they be provided.
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