Fear of retribution from Gov. Greg Abbott contributes to Keller school officials’ push to keep private the deliberations about which books to ban from libraries.
Keller ISD is among many school systems embroiled in a fight about whether students should have access to books that delve into issues of race and sexuality. Republican state leaders, such as Abbott, have poured gasoline on this culture-war issue, stoking fear in educators with the looming possibility of investigations and criminal penalties.
Abbott’s threats are part of the justification Keller ISD attorneys are using to argue that book challenge committee meetings should be held behind closed doors and the identities of members withheld from the public.
The Dallas Morning News is seeking details on the process via public information requests, but the district has not provided documentation about who is serving on these committees. Officials have also said the meetings would not be open.
Attorney Sarah Flournoy, who is representing Keller ISD, wrote a Jan. 4 letter to the Office of the Attorney General explaining why the district wants to keep certain information private.
She noted that the governor has used social media to “encourage prosecution of staff members responsible for pornographic materials in school libraries.”
“A committee member who believes a library book should remain in the library would reasonably fear pressure from the state’s highest office to seek criminal charges against them,” Flournoy wrote.
Keller officials said Flournoy’s positions presented on behalf of the district represent its position.
The governor’s office has not responded to requests for comment.
Abbott announced late last year that he was directing Texas educators to investigate whether pornography is available in public schools and to notify law enforcement if such material is accessible. He wrote on Twitter that, in such instances, people “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
Shortly after, the Texas Education Agency opened an investigation into Keller ISD because of the district’s book offerings. It appears to be the first such probe in the state.
Joe Larsen, an attorney on the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas board of directors, reviewed Keller ISD’s arguments. But despite the district’s concerns, he said, book challenge committee meetings should be open to the public because of the decisions members are empowered to make.
“What we’re able to read is the basis of a free society,” Larsen said. “There are obviously going to be controversies over what is and what isn’t appropriate for younger minds to read.”
Everybody has strong opinions on that, he added. “And we do nobody any favors by trying to sweep them under the rug. They need to be debated. They will be contentious. But that’s what democracy is.”
Amid the ongoing controversy, book challenges have continued to roll in. Free speech and education advocates have decried the effort as trying to deprive students of access to diverse stories that could reflect their own experiences or expand their minds to new ones.
They’ve also accused Abbott of stirring up a moral panic by labeling books specifically about LGBTQ people as “pornography.”
On Jan. 3, a Keller parent submitted a complaint about Rupi Kaur’s book of poems Milk and Honey. Just days before, a community member raised an alarm about Jon Ronson’s book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed.
These titles are among the more than two dozen officially challenged in Keller ISD this year, reflecting an escalation of similar complaints across the country. The books include Toni Morrison’s debut novel as well as others that have won national acclaim.
When a book is challenged, the district convenes a committee to review the complaint. Access to some titles have already been restricted through this process. A committee’s decision is final unless it is appealed to the district.
Flournoy argued in her recent letter that disclosing who serves on the committees could harm the district’s ability to recruit volunteers. Members include district employees, parents, community representatives and others.
“Members may reasonably fear scrutiny, social media posts and other outside forces — both hostile and supportive — suppressing voluntary participation,” Flournoy said.
Emails submitted to the attorney general’s office as proof of the tension show enraged parents, often complaining about the same list of books.
Flournoy also said that the district believes the committees aren’t subject to the Texas Open Meetings Act. For each book that is challenged, the district convenes a separate committee and their vote — on anonymous paper ballots — is a policy decision only for that particular title, she said.
“The meetings themselves, without outside influence, are stressful and time-consuming,” she wrote. “Book challenge committees need breathing space to read, review and discuss the challenge at issue without outside pressure.”
Those arguments don’t hold up for transparency advocates.
Bill Aleshire, an attorney and former Travis County judge, said there are many issues that draw passion and heated debate.
“That is not an excuse,” he said, “to hide from the public who makes the decision and how they make it.”
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
