Education
BY AMIRA VAN LEEUWEN
Comal, New Braunfels ISDs update library materials policy Local school districts updated their library materials policy in August and September following the passage of Senate Bill 13. Texas lawmakers passed SB 13 during this
year’s regular legislative session, and it became law Sept. 1. It aims to give parents and school boards more oversight over school library books, as previously reported by Community Impact . Trustees are now required to approve any new book purchases or donations before they go into the district’s collection, according to SB 13, NBISD Chief Academic Ocer Lani Norman said. What’s changing The NBISD board will review book selections from a shared spreadsheet and submit any ques- tions through a Google Form at least four days before the next board meeting, board documents state. The CISD Library Materials Board Approval list will be locked 30 days before a board meet- ing and will be posted on the district’s Library Services pages, along with a link to a community feedback form. The list will be presented to the board for approval, and campus librarians will be notied of any approvals or denials. If a title is denied, the librarians must remove it from any purchase lists, the presentation states. If a book is challenged, the district will be required to remove the book from circulation during that challenge period. A book challenge typically takes four to eight weeks, depending on the length of the book. Classroom libraries are also not included in the new library acquisition process. Teachers may purchase and add books to their classroom libraries, but if the board
NBISD students look through library books on a shelf at one of the campus libraries.
COURTESY NEW BRAUNFELS ISD
denies a title, it must also be removed from the classroom. Under House Bill 900, teachers were already required to make their classroom library collection available to parents through ParentSquare, Kristen Day, CISD library services and instructional materials coordinator, said. What the board is saying NBISD Superintendent Laurelyn Arterbury said the district was fortunate to have profes- sional librarians with master’s degrees and library information services at each campus. “This board operates with complete
transparency with everything we do, not just library books. So I’m condent with the process we have,” Arterbury said. CISD Board Vice President Russ Garner said he felt like the process created by district sta was transparent and inclusive to parents. “I am condent that our—or 99.99% of our community—is not [going to] try to go o on a tangent and ban a bunch of books and do a bunch of ridiculousness ... I feel like we’ve created a process that embraces our community with this,” Garner said.
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