The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday blocked the state from enforcing the new law that requires booksellers to screen books sold to schools for sexual references and ban books viewed as “sexually explicit” from classrooms and libraries.
Upholding a lower court ruling issued last summer, the appellate court found that the new law, HB 900, most likely violates First Amendment free-speech protections. Justices ruled that the book ratings required by the new law are “neither factual nor uncontroversial.” The court also held that complying with the law would be an undue economic burden on book vendors.
TSTA opposed the politically motivated law when it was being debated by lawmakers last year. The lawsuit against it was brought by bookshops in Austin and Houston and book industry groups.
HB 900 is part of a conservative political wave of book banning in Texas, especially in schools. Many of the targets are books addressing LGBTQ+ issues and race relations. TSTA believes all students must have access to books that reflect their life experiences.
According to PEN America, about 800 books were removed from school libraries in Texas from July 2021 to June 2022. This was the most of any state, the group said.
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