Midway ISD moves quickly to implement Senate Bill 13 rules for library access, delays creating advisory council

Midway Independent School District officials told trustees on Tuesday they have implemented several immediate changes to comply with Senate Bill 13, the new Texas law on school library materials that takes effect Sept. 1, and recommended adopting board-level policy that does not yet create a local School Library Advisory Council.

The administration described how parents can now view their child—s school library catalog and checkout history in Midway—s Destiny (Follett) platform and can block individual titles for their child. Trustees approved EFB(Local) as presented on the consent agenda, which the administration said implements four of the law—s five main components while deferring the optional advisory council.

Dr. Becky Otejima, leader of the district—s teaching and learning department, said SB 13 contains five components: enhanced parent access to library catalogs and checkout records, a state-mandated library collection standard to be issued by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, new board-review procedures for acquisitions, a formal challenge-and-appeal process, and an optional School Library Advisory Council (SLAC) if triggered by a community petition. She said the commission—s collection standard is expected by April 1 of the next school year and that the law specifically recognizes parents— rights to view checkout records and the library catalog.

Sarah Collins, Midway librarian, demonstrated how parents who register with the district—s parent email can log in to Destiny (Follett), see their child—s current and historical checkouts, and use a menu command to block a title from a specific student. Collins said the district already owned the system and turned the functionality on without additional software costs; administrators noted an alternative product would have cost roughly $16,000.

The administration said it has cataloged many classroom-library titles using TeachingBooks/Textquest so parents can review those lists directly with teachers. For third- through 12th-grade classrooms, teachers will post links in Schoology; K-2 teachers will use classroom newsletters. The district also has temporarily disabled access to some third-party digital collections that do not permit parental management until platforms that support parent controls are available.

Under the acquisition procedure described, campus librarians and staff will assemble proposed purchase lists, the district will publish those lists for 30 days for public comment, and the board will consider the proposals at a subsequent meeting. The administration recommended implementing the four mandated components now and waiting for TEA—s model policy and further TASB guidance before deciding whether to establish a SLAC; a SLAC must be created if petitioned by 50 parents or 10% of enrollment, whichever is fewer (50 parents in Midway).

Trustees placed the EFB(Local) policy on the consent agenda and approved the consent agenda unanimously, which included the EFB(Local) adoption but did not establish a SLAC at this time. The administration said that if a SLAC were adopted it would be a three-year commitment under current policy drafts and that further state guidance is expected.

Background and context: SB 13 clarifies parental rights to view library checkout records and the catalog, requires a state collection standard (Texas State Library and Archives Commission), sets timelines for challenge-and-appeal processes and restricted access during review, and provides an optional local advisory council mechanism. Midway officials said they have turned on parent access, created step-by-step instructions for parents, cataloged classroom libraries where feasible, and limited digital resources that cannot currently provide parent controls.

The board did not take separate additional action on creation of a SLAC; administrators said they will return with updated legal and TASB guidance before asking trustees to commit to a council.

Sources: Presentation and Q&A during the August regular board meeting by Dr. Becky Otejima and Sarah Collins. Ending: Parents seeking instructions were told the district—s Library Services page contains step-by-step instructions and links; trustees left open the option to revisit a local advisory council once state guidance is published.