NBISD school board resumes access to secondary libraries

NBISD temporarily closed all middle school and high school libraries on Oct. 13 in response to SB 13. The catalog includes 50,000 titles.

The New Braunfels ISD Board of Trustees called a special board meeting on Thursday to discuss and vote on a lift of the temporary suspension of middle & high schools at the NBISD Administration Building. They unanimously voted to reopen all libraries starting Monday, Oct. 27. 

The school board voted to close secondary libraries at the Oct. 13 regular meeting. 

The push for the library closures stem from Senate Bill 13 that went into effect on Sept. 1 which prohibits the purchase and acquisition of library materials with sexual content, harmful material, or material deemed indecent or profane.

The bill grants parents the ability to restrict titles from their students, allows school boards to create a school library advisory council, and sets guidelines for selecting library materials. NBISD does have a parental control system in place on the library digital catalog. 

Nearly 50 public comments were made by parents, students, teachers, and concerned citizens with majority asking the board to reopen the libraries. Students from New Braunfels Middle School, Oak Run Middle School and New Braunfels High School said their libraries serve as a safe space.

Piper Morgan, a freshman at New Braunfels HS, cited the U.S. Supreme Court case, Board of Education v. Pico, which rules library books cannot be removed due to moral or personal disagreement. 

"Libraries have always felt like a place I could connect with creatives and authors. Whether its fiction or nonfiction, a book has never not resonated or fascinated me," Morgan said. "Once again I call on you to stop violating our rights and reopen our libraries." 

Parents and teachers expressed anguish and disappointment in the board saying the choice was censorship and a drastic move. Some also said library restrictions should be left up to each parent for their own child.

Kirstin May, a New Braunfels MS teacher, spoke about her experiences with students after the library closed last week. 

"My students had a lot of questions that I was not prepared to answer," she said choking up. "My students were asking thoughtful, critical questions exactly what the TEKS trained them to do, but now they're learning a new lesson that books are something to fear and curiosity can be punished." 

Those who spoke in praise of the board’s decision to suspend, voiced high opposition to specific books they said were harmful in the NBISD library catalog. 

Chase Taylor, a parent, raised an issue with the book "Boy Toy" saying it has fetish-like content. The book is about a 12-year-old boy who experiences grooming and sexual assault. 

“The reason the state has to keep stepping in to ban cellphones, banning books, is because the [school boards] are not doing that, parents are not doing that, teachers are not doing that,” Taylor said. 

The suspension also drew attention from state leaders who commended the board's bold move. 

Olivia Miller spoke on behalf of State Rep. Carrie Isaac to thank the board for closing the libraries as a "necessary" step in following the law.

"Thank you board members for your steadfast commitment to protecting our children to make sure they are not exposed to adult material in schools," she said. 

The board announced 81 titles will be under review and community members will have the opportunity to appeal a removal after the review process. While the board aims to address the concerns of community members and follow the new law, they explained this is new territory for everyone.

"We have nothing against any librarian in this district. It was the job that the State of Texas gave us to do. And we did it the best way, the quickest way we felt to get the materials jump started into being in compliance," trustee Nancy York said.