SB 13

S.B. No. 13
  AN ACT
  relating to a school district's library materials and catalog, the
  establishment of local school library advisory councils, and
  parental rights regarding public school library catalogs and access
  by the parent's child to library materials.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 26.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  A parent is entitled to access to all written records of
  a school district concerning the parent's child, including:
               (1)  attendance records;
               (2)  test scores;
               (3)  grades;
               (4)  disciplinary records;
               (5)  counseling records;
               (6)  psychological records;
               (7)  applications for admission;
               (8)  health and immunization information;
               (9)  teacher and school counselor evaluations;
               (10)  reports of behavioral patterns; [and]
               (11)  records relating to assistance provided for
  learning difficulties, including information collected regarding
  any intervention strategies used with the child; and
               (12)  records relating to school library materials the
  child obtains from a school library.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 33.020 and 33.0205 to read as follows:
         Sec. 33.020.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Harmful material" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 43.24, Penal Code.
               (2)  "Indecent content" means content that portrays
  sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently
  offensive.
               (3)  "Library material" means any book, record, file,
  or other instrument or document in a school district's library
  catalog.  The term does not include instructional material, as
  defined by Section 31.002, or materials procured for the TexShare
  consortium under Subchapter M, Chapter 441, Government Code.
               (4)  "Profane content" means content that includes
  grossly offensive language that is considered a public nuisance.
         Sec. 33.0205.  CONSTRUCTION OF SUBCHAPTER.  Nothing in this
  subchapter may be construed as limiting the acquisition of
  instructional material, as defined by Section 31.002, necessary for
  the teaching of, instruction in, or demonstration of knowledge of
  the essential knowledge and skills adopted under Section 28.002.
         SECTION 3.  Section 33.021, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
  follows:
         (d)  The standards adopted under Subsection (c) must:
               (1)  be reviewed and updated at least once every five
  years; and
               (2)  include a collection development policy that:
                     (A)  prohibits the possession, acquisition, and
  purchase of:
                           (i)  harmful material[, as defined by
  Section 43.24, Penal Code];
                           (ii)  library material rated sexually
  explicit material by the selling library material vendor; [or]
                           (iii)  library material that is pervasively
  vulgar or educationally unsuitable as referenced in Board of
  Education v. Pico [v. Board of Education], 457 U.S. 853 (1982);
                           (iv)  library material containing indecent
  content or profane content; or
                           (v)  library material that refers a person
  to an Internet website containing content prohibited under this
  subsection, including by use of a link or QR code, as defined by
  Section 443.001, Health and Safety Code;
                     (B)  recognizes that obscene content is not
  protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution;
                     (C)  is required for all library materials
  available for use or display, including material contained in
  school libraries, classroom libraries, [and] online catalogs,
  library mobile applications, and any other library catalog a
  student may access;
                     (D)  recognizes that parents are the primary
  decision makers regarding a student's access to library material;
                     (E)  encourages schools to provide library
  catalog transparency;
                     (F)  recommends schools communicate effectively
  with parents regarding collection development; [and]
                     (G)  prohibits the removal of material based
  solely on the:
                           (i)  ideas contained in the material; or
                           (ii)  personal background of:
                                 (a)  the author of the material; or
                                 (b)  characters in the material; and
                     (H)  demonstrates a commitment to compliance with
  the Children's Internet Protection Act (Pub. L. No. 106-554),
  including through the use of technology protection measures, as
  defined by that Act.
         (e)  A school district may adopt local policies and
  procedures in addition to the standards adopted under Subsection
  (c) that do not conflict with the standards adopted under that
  subsection or other requirements of this code.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 33.023, 33.024, 33.025, 33.026, and
  33.027 to read as follows:
         Sec. 33.023.  PARENTAL ACCESS TO LIBRARY CATALOG AND ACCESS
  BY THE PARENT'S CHILD TO CERTAIN LIBRARY MATERIALS.  (a)  A school
  district or open-enrollment charter school shall adopt procedures
  that provide for a parent of a child enrolled in the district or
  school to:
               (1)  access the catalog of available library materials
  at each school library in the district or school; and
               (2)  submit to the district or school a list of library
  materials that the parent's child may not be allowed to check out or
  otherwise access for use outside of the school library.
         (b)  The procedures adopted under Subsection (a)(2) must
  allow for a parent to submit a list of library materials through:
               (1)  an electronic or physical form; or
               (2)  the district's or school's online library catalog
  system.
         (c)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school may
  not allow a student to check out or otherwise use outside the school
  library a library material the student's parent has included in a
  list submitted under Subsection (a)(2).
         (d)  Notwithstanding Section 31.0211(c), a school district
  or open-enrollment charter school may use funds from the district's
  or school's instructional materials and technology allotment under
  Section 31.0211 for costs associated with complying with this
  section.
         Sec. 33.024.  PARENTAL ACCESS TO STUDENT LIBRARY RECORDS.  
  Each school district and open-enrollment charter school that uses a
  learning management system or an online learning portal shall,
  through the system or portal, provide to each parent of a child
  enrolled in the district or school a record of each time the
  parent's child checks out or otherwise uses outside the school
  library a library material.  The record must include, as
  applicable, the title, author, genre, and return date of the
  library material.
         Sec. 33.025.  LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL.  (a)
  Subject to Subsection (b), the board of trustees of each school
  district may establish a local school library advisory council to
  assist the district in ensuring that local community values are
  reflected in each school library catalog in the district.  A school
  district that does not establish a local school library advisory
  council must ensure that the district's procedures for adding or
  removing library materials to or from a school library catalog
  comply with:
               (1)  the library standards approved under Section
  33.021; and
               (2)  the meeting requirements under Subsections (g) and
  (h).
         (b)  The board of trustees of a school district shall
  establish a local school library advisory council if the parents of
  at least 10 percent of the students enrolled in the district or 50
  or more parents of students enrolled in the district, whichever is
  fewer, present to the board a petition to establish a local school
  library advisory council.  A council established under this
  subsection may not be abolished until the third anniversary of the
  date on which the council was established.
         (c)  Except as provided by Section 33.026(f), a school
  district that establishes a local school library advisory council
  must consider the recommendations of the local school library
  advisory council before:
               (1)  adding library materials to a school library
  catalog;
               (2)  removing library materials from a school library
  catalog following a challenge under Section 33.027; or
               (3)  making changes to policies or guidelines related
  to a school library catalog.
         (d)  The local school library advisory council's duties
  include recommending:
               (1)  policies and procedures for the acquisition of
  library materials consistent with local community values;
               (2)  to the board of trustees whether library materials
  proposed for acquisition under Section 33.026 are appropriate for
  each grade level of the school or campus for which the library
  materials are proposed to be acquired;
               (3)  if feasible, joint use agreements or strategies
  for collaboration between the school district and local public
  libraries and community organizations;
               (4)  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;
               (5)  the policies and procedures for processing
  challenges received under Section 33.027; and
               (6)  the action to be taken by the district in response
  to a challenge received under Section 33.027.
         (e)  Any recommendation made by the local school library
  advisory council must adhere to the library standards approved
  under Section 33.021.
         (f)  The local school library advisory council must consist
  of at least five members, with each member appointed by the board of
  trustees, and with each trustee appointing an equal number of
  members.  A majority of the voting members of the council must be
  persons who are parents of students enrolled in the district and who
  are not employed by the district.  One of those members shall serve
  as chair of the council.  The board of trustees may also appoint one
  or more persons to serve as nonvoting members of the council from
  any of the following groups:
               (1)  classroom teachers employed by the district;
               (2)  librarians employed by the district;
               (3)  school counselors certified under Subchapter B,
  Chapter 21, employed by the district;
               (4)  school administrators employed by the district;
               (5)  the business community; and
               (6)  the clergy.
         (g)  The local school library advisory council shall meet at
  least two times each year and at other times as necessary to fulfill
  the council's duties under this subchapter.  For each meeting, the
  council shall:
               (1)  at least 72 hours before the meeting:
                     (A)  post notice of the date, hour, place, and
  subject of the meeting on a bulletin board in the central
  administrative office of each campus in the school district; and
                     (B)  ensure that the notice required under
  Paragraph (A) is posted on the district's Internet website, if the
  district has an Internet website;
               (2)  prepare and maintain minutes of the meeting that
  state the subject and content of each deliberation and each vote,
  order, decision, or other action taken by the council during the
  meeting;
               (3)  make an audio or video recording of the meeting;
  and
               (4)  not later than the 10th day after the date of the
  meeting, submit the minutes and audio or video recording of the
  meeting to the district.
         (h)  As soon as practicable after receipt of the minutes and
  audio or video recording under Subsection (g)(4), the school
  district shall post the minutes and audio or video recording on the
  district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
  website.
         Sec. 33.026.  ACQUISITION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS.  (a)  The
  board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a policy for the
  acquisition of library materials, including procedures for the
  procurement of library materials and the receipt of donated library
  materials.  The policy must require the board to:
               (1)  approve all library materials that have been
  donated to or that are to be procured by a school library in the
  district, with the advice and recommendations of the district's
  local school library advisory council if the district established a
  council under Section 33.025;
               (2)  make the list of library materials not described
  by Subsection (f) that have been donated to or that are proposed to
  be procured by a school library accessible for review by the public
  for at least 30 days before final approval;
               (3)  approve or reject the list of library materials
  that have been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a
  school library in an open meeting; and
               (4)  ensure compliance with the library standards
  approved under Section 33.021.
         (b)  Each member of the board of trustees of a school
  district is entitled to:
               (1)  review each list of library materials that have
  been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school
  library in the district; and
               (2)  propose changes to each list described by
  Subdivision (1) before the board votes to approve or reject the
  list.
         (c)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(3), the board of trustees
  shall approve or reject a list of library materials that have been
  donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library
  at the first open meeting of the board held on or after the 30th day
  after the date the list is made accessible for review by the public
  as required by Subsection (a)(2).
         (d)  If a school district established a local school library
  advisory council, the council shall meet to determine the council's
  recommendations regarding library materials that have been donated
  to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library before
  the date of the open meeting of the board of trustees described by
  Subsection (a)(3).  The local school library advisory council
  meeting may occur during the period the list is available for review
  by the public as required by Subsection (a)(2).
         (e)  A school district may not add a donated library material
  to the school library catalog or otherwise make the donated library
  material available for student use unless the board of trustees of
  the district approves the addition of that donated library material
  to the school library catalog for the grade levels for which the
  material is intended.
         (f)  This section does not apply to library materials that
  have been donated to or that are to be procured by a school library
  that:
               (1)  replace a damaged copy of a library material with
  the same International Standard Book Number that is currently in
  the school library catalog;
               (2)  are additional copies of a library material with
  the same International Standard Book Number that is currently in
  the school library catalog; or
               (3)  have the same International Standard Book Number
  and have been approved for the same grade levels by the board of
  trustees of the school district from a previous proposed list of
  library materials.
         (g)  The agency shall adopt and make available a model policy
  for the acquisition of library materials that a school district may
  adopt to comply with the requirements of this section.
         Sec. 33.027.  CHALLENGE OR APPEAL REGARDING LIBRARY
  MATERIALS; LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.  
  (a)  A parent of or person standing in parental relation to a
  student enrolled in a school district, a person employed by the
  district, or a person residing in the district may submit:
               (1)  to the district a written challenge to any library
  material in the catalog of a school library in the district using
  the form adopted under Subsection (e); or
               (2)  to the district's board of trustees an appeal of an
  action taken by the district in response to a written challenge
  received under Subdivision (1).
         (b)  Not later than the fifth day after the date on which a
  school district receives a written challenge under Subsection
  (a)(1), the district shall provide a copy of the challenge to the
  district's local school library advisory council if the district
  established a council under Section 33.025.  The council shall make
  a recommendation for action by the district not later than the 90th
  day after the date on which the council receives the copy.
         (c)  If the procedures recommended by the local school
  library advisory council, if applicable, and adopted by the board
  of trustees permit the appointment of library material review
  committees that consist of persons who are not members of the
  council to review library materials challenged under Subsection
  (a)(1), the council may base the council's recommendation for
  action to be taken by the district under Subsection (b) on the
  recommendation of a library material review committee if the
  committee consists of at least five persons appointed by the board
  of trustees, a majority of whom are parents of students enrolled in
  the school district and are not employed by the district.  Sections
  33.025(g) and (h) apply to a library material review committee
  authorized by this subsection in the same manner as a local school
  library advisory council.
         (d)  The board of trustees shall take action on:
               (1)  a written challenge submitted under Subsection
  (a)(1) at the first open meeting of the board held after:
                     (A)  the 90th day after the date on which the
  school district receives a written challenge under Subsection
  (a)(1); or
                     (B)  if applicable, the local school library
  advisory council has made a recommendation under Subsection (b)
  regarding the challenge; or
               (2)  an appeal under Subsection (a)(2) at the first
  open meeting of the board held after the date the appeal is filed.
         (e)  The agency shall adopt and post on the agency's Internet
  website a form to be used in making a written challenge under
  Subsection (a)(1).  Each school district shall post the form on the
  district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
  website.  The form shall require the person submitting the form to
  identify how the challenged library material violates the library
  standards approved under Section 33.021.
         (f)  In taking action on a written challenge submitted under
  Subsection (a)(1) or an appeal under Subsection (a)(2), the board
  of trustees of a school district shall consider:
               (1)  if applicable, the advice of the district's local
  school library advisory council; and
               (2)  whether the library material challenged under
  Subsection (a)(1) or appealed under Subsection (a)(2) is suitable
  for the subject and grade level for which the library material is
  intended, including by considering:
                     (A)  whether the library material adheres to the
  library standards approved under Section 33.021; and
                     (B)  reviews, if any, of the library material
  conducted by academic experts specializing in the subject covered
  by the library material or in the education of students in the
  subject and grade level for which the library material is intended.
         (g)  A school district that receives a challenge to a library
  material under Subsection (a)(1) shall prohibit students enrolled
  in the district from accessing the library material until the
  district takes action in response to the challenge.
         (h)  If a challenge to a library material submitted under
  Subsection (a)(1) results in the board of trustees, with the
  recommendation of the local school library advisory council, if
  applicable, removing the library material from a school library
  catalog, the board shall notify each teacher assigned as the
  classroom teacher at the grade level for which the library material
  was determined to be not appropriate and instruct the teacher to
  remove any copy of the library material from the teacher's
  classroom library, if applicable.
         (i)  If a challenge to a library material submitted under
  Subsection (a)(1) results in the board of trustees, with the
  recommendation of the local school library advisory council, if
  applicable, not removing the library material from a school library
  catalog, the board is not required to take any action in response to
  a written challenge of the library material submitted before the
  second anniversary of the date of the determination to not remove
  the library material.
         SECTION 5.  It is the intent of the legislature that every
  provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
  in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to
  every person, group of persons, or circumstances, is severable from
  each other.  If any application of any provision in this Act to any
  person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be
  invalid for any reason, the remaining applications of that
  provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be severed
  and may not be affected.
         SECTION 6.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the Texas Education Agency shall adopt and make
  available a model policy for the acquisition of library materials
  as required by Section 33.026(g), Education Code, as added by this
  Act.
         SECTION 7.  Before the first day of the 2025-2026 school
  year, the board of trustees of each school district shall adopt a
  policy for the acquisition of library materials as required by
  Section 33.026, Education Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 8.  Not later than April 1, 2026, the Texas State
  Library and Archives Commission shall adopt the standards for
  school library collection development as required under Section
  33.021, Education Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 9.  This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026
  school year.
         SECTION 10.  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
  over another Act of the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025,
  relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
  codes.
         SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect immediately if it
  receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
  house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
  effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
  ______________________________
  ______________________________
     President of the Senate
  Speaker of the House     
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 13 passed the Senate on
  March 19, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 23, Nays 8;
  May 29, 2025, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
  requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 30, 2025, House
  granted request of the Senate; May 31, 2025, Senate adopted
  Conference Committee Report by the following vote:  Yeas 23,
  Nays 8.
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 13 passed the House, with
  amendments, on May 28, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 86,
  Nays 55, two present not voting; May 30, 2025, House granted
  request of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
  May 31, 2025, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
  following vote:  Yeas 81, Nays 48, two present not voting.
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
  Approved:
  ______________________________ 
             Date
  ______________________________ 
            Governor