Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5251 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R15353 PRL-F
2	2	By: Toth H.B. No. 5251
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to a school district's library materials and catalog, the
8	8	creation of local school library advisory councils, and parental
9	9	rights regarding public school library catalogs and access by the
10	10	parent's child to library materials and to affirmative defenses to
11	11	prosecution for certain offenses involving material or conduct that
12	12	is obscene or otherwise harmful to children.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 26.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
15	15	read as follows:
16	16	(b) A parent is entitled to access to all written records of
17	17	a school district concerning the parent's child, including:
18	18	(1) attendance records;
19	19	(2) test scores;
20	20	(3) grades;
21	21	(4) disciplinary records;
22	22	(5) counseling records;
23	23	(6) psychological records;
24	24	(7) applications for admission;
25	25	(8) health and immunization information;
26	26	(9) teacher and school counselor evaluations;
27	27	(10) reports of behavioral patterns; [and]
28	28	(11) records relating to assistance provided for
29	29	learning difficulties, including information collected regarding
30	30	any intervention strategies used with the child; and
31	31	(12) records relating to school library materials the
32	32	child obtains from a school library.
33	33	SECTION 2. Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding
34	34	Section 26.017 to read as follows:
35	35	Sec. 26.017. NOTICE REGARDING SCHOOL LIBRARY MATERIALS.
36	36	(a) Before each school year, a school district shall provide
37	37	written notice to a parent of each child enrolled in the district
38	38	regarding the option to receive notice each time the child obtains a
39	39	school library material from a school library in the district.
40	40	(b) For each parent who elects to receive notice under
41	41	Subsection (a), the school district shall notify the parent by
42	42	e-mail each time the parent's child obtains a school library
43	43	material from a school library in the district. The notice must
44	44	include, as applicable, the title, author, genre, and return date
45	45	of the school library material.
46	46	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
47	47	amended by adding Section 33.020 to read as follows:
48	48	Sec. 33.020. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
49	49	(1) "Harmful material" has the meaning assigned by
50	50	Section 43.24, Penal Code.
51	51	(2) "Library material" means any book, record, file,
52	52	or other instrument or document in a school district's library
53	53	catalog. The term does not include instructional material, as
54	54	defined by Section 31.002.
55	55	SECTION 4. Section 33.021, Education Code, is amended to
56	56	read as follows:
57	57	Sec. 33.021. LIBRARY STANDARDS. (a) The Texas State
58	58	Library and Archives Commission[, in consultation with the State
59	59	Board of Education,] shall submit proposed [adopt] standards for
60	60	school library services to the State Board of Education for
61	61	approval or disapproval.
62	62	(b) The standards approved under Subsection (a) must
63	63	include a collection development policy that:
64	64	(1) prohibits the acquisition or retention of harmful
65	65	material; and
66	66	(2) demonstrates a commitment to compliance with the
67	67	Children's Internet Protection Act (Pub. L. No. 106-554),
68	68	including through the use of technology protection measures, as
69	69	defined by that Act.
70	70	(c) A school district shall adhere to [consider] the
71	71	standards approved under Subsection (a) in developing,
72	72	implementing, or expanding library services.
73	73	SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
74	74	amended by adding Sections 33.026, 33.027, and 33.028 to read as
75	75	follows:
76	76	Sec. 33.026. LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL. (a)
77	77	The board of trustees of each school district shall establish a
78	78	local school library advisory council to assist the district in
79	79	ensuring that local community values are reflected in each school
80	80	library catalog in the district.
81	81	(b) A school district must consider the recommendations of
82	82	the local school library advisory council before making changes to
83	83	a school library catalog.
84	84	(c) The local school library advisory council's duties
85	85	include recommending:
86	86	(1) policies and procedures for the procurement of
87	87	library materials consistent with local community values;
88	88	(2) library materials appropriate for each grade
89	89	level;
90	90	(3) if feasible, joint use agreements or strategies
91	91	for collaboration between the school district and local public
92	92	libraries and community organizations;
93	93	(4) the removal of any library materials that the
94	94	council determines to be:
95	95	(A) harmful material; or
96	96	(B) inconsistent with local community values;
97	97	and
98	98	(5) the action to be taken by the district in response
99	99	to a challenge received under Section 33.028.
100	100	(d) Any recommendation made by the local school library
101	101	advisory council must adhere to the library standards approved
102	102	under Section 33.021.
103	103	(e) The board of trustees shall appoint at least five
104	104	members to the local school library advisory council. A majority of
105	105	the members must be persons who are parents of students enrolled in
106	106	the district and who are not employed by the district. One of those
107	107	members shall serve as chair of the council. The board of trustees
108	108	may also appoint one or more persons to serve as nonvoting members
109	109	of the council from each of the following groups:
110	110	(1) classroom teachers employed by the district;
111	111	(2) librarians employed by the district;
112	112	(3) school counselors certified under Subchapter B,
113	113	Chapter 21, employed by the district;
114	114	(4) school administrators employed by the district;
115	115	(5) district students;
116	116	(6) the business community; and
117	117	(7) the clergy.
118	118	(f) The local school library advisory council shall meet at
119	119	least two times each year. For each meeting, the council shall:
120	120	(1) at least 72 hours before the meeting:
121	121	(A) post notice of the date, hour, place, and
122	122	subject of the meeting on a bulletin board in the central
123	123	administrative office of each campus in the school district; and
124	124	(B) ensure that the notice required under
125	125	Paragraph (A) is posted on the district's Internet website, if the
126	126	district has an Internet website;
127	127	(2) prepare and maintain minutes of the meeting that
128	128	state the subject and content of each deliberation and each vote,
129	129	order, decision, or other action taken by the council during the
130	130	meeting;
131	131	(3) make an audio or video recording of the meeting;
132	132	and
133	133	(4) not later than the 10th day after the meeting,
134	134	submit the minutes and audio or video recording of the meeting to
135	135	the district.
136	136	(g) As soon as practicable after receipt of the minutes and
137	137	audio or video recording under Subsection (f)(4), the school
138	138	district shall post the minutes and audio or video recording on the
139	139	district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
140	140	website.
141	141	Sec. 33.027. PROCUREMENT OF LIBRARY MATERIALS. (a) The
142	142	board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a policy for the
143	143	procurement of library materials. The policy must require the
144	144	board to:
145	145	(1) approve all library materials to be procured by a
146	146	school library in the district, with the advice and recommendations
147	147	of the district's local school library advisory council established
148	148	under Section 33.026;
149	149	(2) make the list of library materials proposed to be
150	150	procured accessible for review by the public for at least 30 days
151	151	before final approval;
152	152	(3) approve or reject the list of library materials
153	153	proposed to be procured in an open meeting; and
154	154	(4) ensure compliance with the library standards
155	155	approved under Section 33.021.
156	156	(b) Each member of the board of trustees of a school
157	157	district is entitled to:
158	158	(1) review each list of library materials proposed to
159	159	be procured for a school library in the district; and
160	160	(2) propose changes to each list described by
161	161	Subdivision (1) before the board votes to approve or reject the
162	162	list.
163	163	Sec. 33.028. CHALLENGE OR APPEAL REGARDING LIBRARY
164	164	MATERIALS; LOCAL SCHOOL LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS.
165	165	(a) A parent of or person standing in parental relation to a
166	166	student enrolled in a school district or a person residing in the
167	167	district may submit:
168	168	(1) to the district a written challenge to any library
169	169	material in the catalog of a school library in the district using
170	170	the form adopted under Subsection (c); or
171	171	(2) to the district's board of trustees an appeal of an
172	172	action taken by the district in response to a written challenge
173	173	received under Subdivision (1).
174	174	(b) Not later than the fifth day after the date on which a
175	175	school district receives a written challenge under Subsection
176	176	(a)(1), the district shall provide a copy of the challenge to the
177	177	district's local school library advisory council established under
178	178	Section 33.026. The council shall make a recommendation for action
179	179	by the district not later than the 90th day after the date on which
180	180	the council receives the copy.
181	181	(c) The agency shall adopt and post on the agency's Internet
182	182	website a form to be used in making a written challenge under
183	183	Subsection (a)(1). Each school district shall post the form on the
184	184	district's Internet website, if the district has an Internet
185	185	website. The form shall require the person submitting the form to
186	186	identify how the challenged library material violates the library
187	187	standards approved under Section 33.021.
188	188	(d) In taking action on a written challenge submitted under
189	189	Subsection (a)(1) or an appeal under Subsection (a)(2), the board
190	190	of trustees of a school district shall consider:
191	191	(1) the advice of the district's local school library
192	192	advisory council; and
193	193	(2) whether the library material challenged under
194	194	Subsection (a)(1) or appealed under Subsection (a)(2) is suitable
195	195	for the subject and grade level for which the library material is
196	196	intended, including by considering:
197	197	(A) whether the material adheres to the library
198	198	standards approved under Section 33.021; and
199	199	(B) reviews, if any, of the material conducted by
200	200	academic experts specializing in the subject covered by the library
201	201	material or in the education of students in the subject and grade
202	202	level for which the library material is intended.
203	203	SECTION 6. Section 43.24(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
204	204	as follows:
205	205	(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
206	206	section that the sale, distribution, or exhibition was by a person
207	207	having a bona fide judicial, law enforcement, or legislative
208	208	[scientific, educational, governmental, or other similar]
209	209	justification.
210	210	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
211	211	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
212	212	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
213	213	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
214	214	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
215	215	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
216	216	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
217	217	SECTION 8. Before the first day of the 2023-2024 school
218	218	year, the board of trustees of each school district shall:
219	219	(1) establish and appoint members of the local school
220	220	library advisory council as required by Section 33.026, Education
221	221	Code, as added by this Act; and
222	222	(2) adopt a policy for the procurement of library
223	223	materials as required by Section 33.027, Education Code, as added
224	224	by this Act.
225	225	SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
226	226	school year.
227	227	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
228	228	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
229	229	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
230	230	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
231	231	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.