In a double victory for protecting Llano High School students, Principal Scott Patrick announced that the first book challenged for explicit content is being removed from the library shelves and that students will no longer be required to review challenged books.
Local resident Bonnie Wallace is challenging 207 books for inappropriate content. She received the news that the first book she challenged—Call Me by Your Name—had been removed from the district library late last week.
“I am delighted that the Llano High School, through the Book Review Committee, has removed the first book which I have filed a Reconsideration Request for,” Wallace told Texas Scorecard. “It is a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.”
Patrick also informed Wallace that the review committee—which originally included students to review Call Me by Your Name—would no longer include students.
Wallace said this is also a “big victory!”
It seems very stupid to place students on the book review committee to read a book filled with porn to determine if that porn-filled book is appropriate for underage students. Parents should be able to send their children to Llano schools without worrying if they will be exposed to sexually explicit or pervasively vulgar content when they randomly browse a book off of the library shelf.
In an email reviewed by Texas Scorecard, Patrick told Wallace the decision to remove the students occurred so that the students would be “insulated from any potential controversy.”
“Not so that they are insulated from sexually explicit and pervasively vulgar material?” Wallace questioned. “This is the pitiful truth about this whole process. Is it the administration’s priority to protect themselves from litigation? Or to protect the precious children who are entrusted to them each day?”
Patrick had told Wallace previously that it would take roughly 30 days per book to review. By extrapolating that to mean reviewing nine books per school year, it will take more than 22 years to review her list of 207 books. Currently, Patrick told Wallace the challenged books will not be removed from general circulation during the reconsideration process.
Wallace has requested a copy of the district’s reconsideration policy, but has yet to receive it.
“I am now assuming that there is not an official reconsideration process which has been established and voted on by the Llano ISD board of trustees,” said Wallace. “At this incredibly slow pace, the board of trustees needs to implement a procedure of removing a contested curriculum or library book immediately upon receiving a formal reconsideration request to protect the children. Then, technically, it wouldn’t matter if they did take 22 years to review the list of books I have.”
“I am waiting for the board of trustees to establish and vote on a reconsideration process, instead of having the High School Principal, Scott Patrick, create one as we go,” said Wallace. “I have requested, repeatedly, that a library book topic be included on the February 26th board meeting.”
The next Llano ISD Board of Trustees meeting will be held on February 26, 2024.
Texas Scorecard reached out to Llano ISD for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.
