While parents across Texas fight to remove explicit materials from their childrenâs classrooms, school districts in both Dallas ISD and Austin ISD continue providing these books to studentsâand paying for them with taxpayer dollars.
According to documents obtained by the Texas Freedom Coalition through open records requests, dozens of offensive and sexually explicit books are available to students attending middle and high schools across Dallas and Austin.
Records from Dallas ISD show that four schools purchased copies of âRed, White, and Royal Blueâ as recently as April 2022. The book centers around what happens when âAmerica’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales.â Additionally, middle-schoolers and high-schoolers in seven Austin ISD districts have access to the book.
Over the past few years, schools across both districts also purchased copies of âGender Queerâ and âAll Boys Arenât Blue,â which feature scenes of sexually explicit content.
Although the parent-driven movement to rid schools of explicit materials only recently gained momentum, records from Dallas ISD show Wilmer Hutchins High School purchased âTrianglesâ by Ellen Hopkins in 2011.
Hopkinsâ book features one woman who âloses herself in the world of extramarital sexâ and another with âa gay, rebellious teenage son.â Recently, Prosper ISD removed several of Hopkinsâ books after librarians determined they were âvulgar or explicit.â
Dallas ISD also provides students with copies of âA Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns,â which includes a character who says, ââI identify as non-binary, this means I donât really identify as male or female. Confusing I know! We live in a weird wondrous wild world!â
In addition to spending taxpayer dollars on explicit books, Austin ISD paid more than $4,000 in March to send seven employees to the SXSW EDU conference, where teachers attended talks on the âABCs of Equity: Assumptions, Bias, & Consciousnessâ and âAdvancing Climate Action in Schools.â
Austin ISD also sparked controversy when the district held a district-wide âPride Outâ celebration. The week-long event included lesson plans on âComing Out and Pronouns Daysâ and pride parades for elementary school students.
While Austin and Dallas ISD promote sexually explicit books and harmful ideologies, students in both districts are struggling to read and complete math problems at grade level. According to the TEAâs official school ratings, only 37 percent of students attending Dallas ISD read at grade level, while 47 percent of students at Austin ISD meet their grade level in reading.
In both districts, studentsâ math skills are similarly low. Ratings for Dallas ISD show 32 percent of students can complete math problems meant for their grade level, while 34 percent of Austin ISDâs students meet their grade level in math.
Dallas ISD, Austin ISD, and other districts across the state will have to decide if sacrificing studentsâ literacy and math skills for subversive ideologies is a worthy exchange.