Texas school libraries have been far from quiet in the past two years. The voices of parents and legislators condemning the content of certain books—particularly those featuring LGBTQ+ and nonwhite characters—are thunderous in Texas. The Lone Star State has more school book bans in place than any other state in the country, according to a report from PEN America.
The content-banning fervor isn’t isolated to just a few communities. In November, the American Civil Liberties Union requested a formal investigation into the policy of the Keller Independent School District in North Texas banning all books that feature transgender or nonbinary characters. That same month, in the suburban Austin district of Leander, multiple candidates ran for open school board positions on book-banning platforms, with one securing a seat.
In Katy, west of Houston, the content bans extended beyond books: For years, the school district’s internet filters blocked certain websites featuring “alternative lifestyles,” which included websites like the Trevor Project, a nonprofit suicide prevention resource for young LGBTQ+ people. “It shocked me that a district I had grown up in was not only characterizing my identity as a lifestyle, as a choice, but it was calling it alternative and inherently sexual,” said Cameron Samuels, a former student at Seven Lakes High School in Katy Independent School District.
