WARNING: This article contains sexually explicit content quoted from a book.
Last month, Republican Party of Texas delegates came together for their 2024 convention to flesh out the party’s platform and vote on its top legislative priorities.
The delegates selected eight legislative priorities, one of which was ending the sexualization of children in Texas.
Delegates called for stopping the sexualization of minors, noting that it leads to “abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.” The delegates indicated that they intend to accomplish this goal by:
- “Prohibiting taxpayer funding to any entities that permit or promote sexually inappropriate content to minors and legislatively banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender ideology in schools and libraries.
- Repealing affirmative defenses in Texas Penal Code (43.24, 43.25) and redefining “harmful materials” to remove loopholes provided by the modified Miller Test.
- Establishing an independent Inspector General for Education to investigate fraud, waste, abuse, and criminal conduct within schools and refer findings to prosecutorial authorities.
- Compelling superintendents to report sex crimes within schools to outside law enforcement and removing immunity from civil liability for schools and their employees.”
Sexually explicit and inappropriate books have been discovered in multiple public school districts across the state, including in Fort Worth ISD, Plano ISD, Dallas ISD, and Princeton ISD.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Princeton ISD removed 148 library books for review earlier this year because of purportedly “inappropriate” content.
The move came after the non-profit Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF) conducted an audit of the district’s library books.
“One such book, ‘Melissa,’ by Alex Gino, introduces the concept of transitioning children, including the use of androgen blockers and sex change surgeries, while omitting the risks associated with such procedures. Another book, ‘Welcome to St. Hell’ by Lewis Hancox, depicts the author’s experiences with transitioning using testosterone injections, binding, and packers,” CDF claimed.
Plano ISD removed 64 books last year due to possible sexual content. One such book was Identical by Ellen Hopkins, which tells the story of 16-year-old identical twin daughters, one of whom gets sexually assaulted.
“Confused at his tears, and at the sticky stuff icing her hands, still Kaeleigh pleaded, ‘Don’t cry, Daddy. What’s the matter? Didn’t I love you good enough?’” one passage reads.
Fort Worth ISD returned potentially inappropriate books to library shelves this year despite backlash from the community the previous year.
Some activists have argued against the Texas Legislature’s efforts to ensure that only age-appropriate materials are kept in school libraries.
The Texas branch of the Children’s Defense Fund claims that HB 900, a state law that proscribes some reading materials and regulates how books can be challenged in schools, “threatens students’ freedom to read, increases state surveillance of school libraries, and ultimately disempowers parents and students from making decisions for their own families.”