Bible Back in Texas Schools After Being Pulled for Sexual Content
Canyon Independent School District pulled sections of the Bible from its library shelves over concerns that its "sexually explicit" material violated Texas law.
Is the Bible too "sexually explicit" for minors? The Canyon Independent School District in Texas was apparently concerned that it might be. The district pulled the Bible from school library shelves earlier this month as part of a review of potentially "sexually explicit material."
According to Superintendent Darryl Flusche, the district was worried about running afoul of a new Texas law known as the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources (READER) Act, or House Bill 900.
"House Bill 900, which passed during the last legislative session, establishes library standards that restrict content in school libraries," Flusche wrote in a leaked email to parents, citing the section of the law defining sexually explicit material (that which "describes, depicts, or portrays sexual conduct"). "This standard for library content prohibits books that have one instance of sexual content" that meets the definition.
As a result, "numerous books, including the full text of the Bible," were verboten in school libraries, Flusche continued, pointing out that portions of the Bible were still available to students. "We are more than willing to assist a student who would like access to a Bible by arranging this from one of our partnering churches," he added. Flusche also asked parents to "share their voice with the legislators concerning HB900."
Did Flusche really feel that stocking the Bible violated Texas law? Or is he simply trying to make a point about the broadness and potential unintended consequences of the READER Act?
Either way, he has the wrong idea, according to the Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson (R–Denton), who sponsored the bill.
"Let me be very clear: the Bible, and other religious texts, are protected under HB 900…. Any assertion to the contrary is either rooted in ignorance of state law or an open hostility to the will of the people," Patterson wrote in a letter to Flusche. "Not only is your interpretation of HB 900 completely wrong, but your decision to ban the Bible was likely illegal."
Patterson cited a part of the Texas education code that requires schools to carry "religious literature, including the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament."
Of course, that precludes the Bible from meeting Texas standards for "sexually explicit" material. It just means that Texas authorities make exceptions for certain texts portraying sexual conduct. It also illustrates further how involved the state government is in micromanaging exactly what can and can't be available in schools throughout the state. And it's kind of funny how the only "religious literature" explicitly named in the code is the Christian Bible.
In any event, the Bible is now back on Canyon Independent School District library shelves, the school district said in a statement. Furthermore, it was never removed from schools entirely. "The Bible has always been, and continues to be, available in our schools to support instructional resources and meet all [statewide education] requirements," said the district. "This longstanding practice has not changed. Additionally, our libraries contain books about the Bible, including Bible stories, which remain available to our students."
"Following the passage of House Bill 900, Canyon [school district] conducted a comprehensive review of library materials to ensure compliance with updated state guidelines," the district explained. "After receiving clarification from Representative Patterson regarding library content, we reevaluated the guidelines and are pleased to have the Bible available in each of our Canyon [school] libraries."
