By: Paxton	S.B. No. 34

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to a school district's library materials and catalog, the
	creation of local school library advisory councils, and parental
	rights regarding public school library catalogs and access by the
	parent's child to library materials.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 26.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  A parent is entitled to access to all written records of
	a school district concerning the parent's child, including:
	(1)  attendance records;
	(2)  test scores;
	(3)  grades;
	(4)  disciplinary records;
	(5)  counseling records;
	(6)  psychological records;
	(7)  applications for admission;
	(8)  health and immunization information;
	(9)  teacher and school counselor evaluations;
	(10)  reports of behavioral patterns; [and]
	(11)  records relating to assistance provided for
	learning difficulties, including information collected regarding
	any intervention strategies used with the child; and
	(12)  records relating to school library materials the
	child obtains from a school library.
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding
	Section 26.017 to read as follows:
	Sec. 26.017.  NOTICE REGARDING SCHOOL LIBRARY MATERIALS.
	(a) Before each school year, a school district shall provide
	written notice to a parent of each child enrolled in the district
	regarding the option to receive notice each time the child obtains a
	school library material from a school library in the district.
	(b)  For each parent who elects to receive notice under
	Subsection (a), the school district shall notify the parent by
	e-mail each time the parent's child obtains a school library
	material from a school library in the district. The notice must
	include, as applicable, the title, author, genre, and return date
	of the school library material.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Sections 33.026, 33.027, and 33.028 to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 33.026.  LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL. (a)
	The board of trustees of each school district shall establish a
	local school library advisory council to assist the district in
	ensuring that local community values are reflected in each school
	library catalog in the district.
	(b)  Except as provided by Section 33.027(d), a school
	district must consider the recommendations of the local school
	library advisory council before:
	(1)  adding library materials to a school library
	catalog;
	(2)  removing library materials from a school library
	catalog following a challenge under Section 33.028; or
	(3)  making changes to policies or guidelines related
	to a school library catalog.
	(c)  The local school library advisory council's duties
	include recommending:
	(1)  policies and procedures for the acquisition of
	library materials consistent with local community values;
	(2)  library materials appropriate for each grade
	level;
	(3)  if feasible, joint use agreements or strategies
	for collaboration between the school district and local public
	libraries and community organizations;
	(4)  the removal of any library materials that the
	council determines to be:
	(A)  harmful material or material containing
	indecent content or profane content; or
	(B)  inconsistent with local community values;
	(5)  the policies and procedures for processing
	challenges received under Section 33.028; and
	(6)  the action to be taken by the district in response
	to a challenge received under Section 33.028.
	(d)  Any recommendation made by the local school library
	advisory council must adhere to the library standards approved
	under Section 33.021.
	(e)  The local school library advisory council must consist
	of at least five members, with each member appointed by the board of
	trustees, and with each trustee appointing an equal number of
	members. A majority of the voting members of the council must be
	persons who are parents of students enrolled in the district and who
	are not employed by the district. One of those members shall serve
	as chair of the council. The board of trustees may also appoint one
	or more persons to serve as nonvoting members of the council from
	any of the following groups:
	(1)  classroom teachers employed by the district;
	(2)  librarians employed by the district;
	(3)  school counselors certified under Subchapter B,
	Chapter 21, employed by the district;
	(4)  school administrators employed by the district;
	(5)  district students;
	(6)  the business community; and
	(7)  the clergy.
	(f)  The local school library advisory council shall meet at
	least two times each year. For each meeting, the council shall:
	(1)  at least 72 hours before the meeting:
	(A)  post notice of the date, hour, place, and
	subject of the meeting on a bulletin board in the central
	administrative office of each campus in the school district; and
	(B)  ensure that the notice required under
	Paragraph (A) is posted on the district's Internet website, if the
	district has an Internet website;
	(2)  prepare and maintain minutes of the meeting that
	state the subject and content of each deliberation and each vote,
	order, decision, or other action taken by the council during the
	meeting;
	(3)  make an audio or video recording of the meeting;
	and
	(4)  not later than the 10th day after the meeting,
	submit the minutes and audio or video recording of the meeting to
	the district.
	(g)  As soon as practicable after receipt of the minutes and
	audio or video recording under Subsection (f)(4), the school
	district shall post the minutes and audio or video recording on the
	district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
	website.
	Sec. 33.027.  ACQUISITION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS. (a) The
	board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a policy for the
	acquisition of library materials, including procedures for the
	procurement of library materials and the receipt of donated library
	materials. The policy must require the board to:
	(1)  approve all library materials that have been
	donated to or that are to be procured by a school library in the
	district, with the advice and recommendations of the district's
	local school library advisory council established under Section
	33.026;
	(2)  make the list of library materials that have been
	donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library
	accessible for review by the public for at least 30 days before
	final approval;
	(3)  approve or reject the list of library materials
	that have been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a
	school library in an open meeting; and
	(4)  ensure compliance with the library standards
	approved under Section 33.021.
	(b)  Each member of the board of trustees of a school
	district is entitled to:
	(1)  review each list of library materials that have
	been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school
	library in the district; and
	(2)  propose changes to each list described by
	Subdivision (1) before the board votes to approve or reject the
	list.
	(c)  A school district may not add a donated library material
	to the school library catalog or otherwise make the donated library
	material available for student use unless the board of trustees of
	the district approves the addition of that donated library material
	to the school library catalog for the grade levels for which the
	material is intended.
	(d)  This section does not apply to library materials that
	have been donated to or that are to be procured by a school library
	that:
	(1)  replace a damaged copy of a library material that
	is currently in the school library catalog;
	(2)  are additional copies of a library material that
	is currently in the school library catalog; or
	(3)  have been approved for the same grade levels by the
	board of trustees of the school district from a previous proposed
	list of library materials.
	Sec. 33.028.  CHALLENGE OR APPEAL REGARDING LIBRARY
	MATERIALS; LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.
	(a) A parent of or person standing in parental relation to a
	student enrolled in a school district, a person employed by the
	district, or a person residing in the district may submit:
	(1)  to the district a written challenge to any library
	material in the catalog of a school library in the district using
	the form adopted under Subsection (c); or
	(2)  to the district's board of trustees an appeal of an
	action taken by the district in response to a written challenge
	received under Subdivision (1).
	(b)  Not later than the fifth day after the date on which a
	school district receives a written challenge under Subsection
	(a)(1), the district shall provide a copy of the challenge to the
	district's local school library advisory council established under
	Section 33.026. The council shall make a recommendation for action
	by the district not later than the 90th day after the date on which
	the council receives the copy.
	(b-1)  If the procedures recommended by the local school
	library advisory council and adopted by the board of trustees
	permit the appointment of library material review committees that
	consist of persons who are not members of the council to review
	materials challenged under Subsection (a)(1), the council may base
	the council's recommendation for action to be taken by the district
	under Subsection (b) on the recommendation of a library material
	review committee if the committee consists of at least five persons
	appointed by the board of trustees, a majority of whom are parents
	of students enrolled in the school district and are not employed by
	the district.
	(c)  The agency shall adopt and post on the agency's Internet
	website a form to be used in making a written challenge under
	Subsection (a)(1). Each school district shall post the form on the
	district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
	website. The form shall require the person submitting the form to
	identify how the challenged library material violates the library
	standards approved under Section 33.021.
	(d)  In taking action on a written challenge submitted under
	Subsection (a)(1) or an appeal under Subsection (a)(2), the board
	of trustees of a school district shall consider:
	(1)  the advice of the district's local school library
	advisory council; and
	(2)  whether the library material challenged under
	Subsection (a)(1) or appealed under Subsection (a)(2) is suitable
	for the subject and grade level for which the library material is
	intended, including by considering:
	(A)  whether the material adheres to the library
	standards approved under Section 33.021; and
	(B)  reviews, if any, of the material conducted by
	academic experts specializing in the subject covered by the library
	material or in the education of students in the subject and grade
	level for which the library material is intended.
	SECTION 4.  It is the intent of the legislature that every
	provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
	in this Act, and every application of the provisions in this Act to
	every person, group of persons, or circumstances, is severable from
	each other. If any application of any provision in this Act to any
	person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a court to be
	invalid for any reason, the remaining applications of that
	provision to all other persons and circumstances shall be severed
	and may not be affected.
	SECTION 5.  Before the first day of the 2024-2025 school
	year, the board of trustees of each school district shall:
	(1)  establish and appoint members of the local school
	library advisory council as required by Section 33.026, Education
	Code, as added by this Act; and
	(2)  adopt a policy for the acquisition of library
	materials as required by Section 33.027, Education Code, as added
	by this Act.
	SECTION 6.  This Act applies beginning with the 2024-2025
	school year.
	SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
	legislative session.