Lake Travis ISD is weighing new book review policy. Here's why some parents are concerned.

Parents and students are speaking out against a Lake Travis school board proposal to change library book policies that opponents say would limit students' access to information.

The proposed change would create two different tracks for book reviews: one for textbooks and one for library materials. While the track for textbooks would remain largely the same, the library books section creates an expedited review of materials considered to be obscene or harmful as defined in the Texas Penal Code.

If an initial review process determines the book might be obscene or harmful, the school would remove it from the shelf while a formal process unfolds, according to the proposal.

The school board behind closed doors Wednesday discussed the potential library policy changes. Speakers, including about a dozen parents and students, largely opposed the proposal during the public portion of the board meeting.

The board's consideration comes after the Texas Legislature over the spring passed House Bill 900, the state's shot at regulating which books can be sold to or included in school libraries by limiting sexually relevant material and banning sexually explicit content.

HB 900 defines sexually explicit material as anything not directly related to the curriculum that portrays sexual conduct defined in the Texas Penal Code “in a way that is patently offensive.” It defines sexually relevant material as content that portrays sexual conduct.

The Lake Travis district's proposed policy would also prohibit reviews of a book for five years if it’s kept on the shelf and for 10 years if it's removed from a library's offerings.

'I wish they would trust us to make our own decisions'

Lake Travis High School senior Rishika Sikka, an avid reader, said Wednesday that she's frustrated with the proposed change because books about hard or uncomfortable topics help teach students in a safe environment about the realities of the world.

“We’re smart enough to not be just brainwashed by a book or TV show,” Sikka said.

Instead, books about critical topics offer a different perspective for Sikka, one of many she may consider, she said. Students deserve to make their own choices about the books they read, she said.

“It’s not like anyone’s forcing me to read these books,” Sikka said. “I wish they would trust us to make our own decisions.”

School board President John Aoueille didn't return an American-Statesman request for comment Thursday.

The parents' and students' concern comes just a month after the school board elected to remove three books from Lake Travis schools: "I Never" by Laura Hooper from the high school, "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson from middle and high schools, and "Bodies Are Cool" by Tyler Feder, which was moved from elementary libraries to the teacher and staff collection.

Lake Travis High School sophomore Carter Davis said the proposed policies to remove books from libraries is an injustice.

“The parents’ right to moderate what their kid’s reading stops when it infringes on the liberties of another kid, whose parent is not that authoritative,” Davis said.

Jennifer Montgomery, a parent of eighth and fifth grade students in Lake Travis, worries that the new policy jumps the gun on implementing HB 900, which is snarled in a legal battle brought by Texas book sellers who claim HB 900 violates free speech, is unclear and is unconstitutional because it focuses on a particular type of speech, among other arguments..

The new policy refers to definitions of “harmful materials” and “obscene” in relation to HB 900, but it’s still unclear exactly how the law will apply, she said.

“It has guidelines from the school district defining for themselves what sexually explicit means without that feedback from the state,” Montgomery said.

She also worries that the proposed book policy removes librarians from the review process too much.

“Librarians are very well-trained members of our school district,” Montgomery said. “Most of them have master’s degrees. We really should not be leaving them out of the process.”

Jodie Dover, a mother of two Lake Travis elementary students, however, is glad to see the new changes being considered.

She has challenged books in libraries in the past and said the process is clunky, is too slow and doesn’t take parent feedback into account enough.

Dover appreciates the proposed requirement that the book review committee include at least three parents.

“The policy does really need to be revisited,” Dover said. “It’s just not up to today’s standards.”

Dover said the proposed policy wouldn't limit students’ access to books. Instead, she said, it would just speed up the review process.

“The end result is always going to be the end results,” Dover said. “It's how fast can that decision be made."

The board could vote on the proposed policy change as early as January.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lake Travis school district weighs new book review review policy