Comal ISD trustees voted Thursday to adopt a new library materials acquisition policy to implement Senate Bill 13 requirements for public notice, community review and board approval of new district library titles.

District staff told the board that Senate Bill 13 requires school boards to adopt policy changes governing how new library materials are reviewed, how the public may submit concerns and that challenged titles be removed from circulation while a formal challenge is processed. Kristen Day, the district's new coordinator of library services and instructional materials, and Jillian Pratt, director of digital learning and library services, explained the implementation steps the district will follow.

Under the district’s process, librarians will compile a “library materials board approval list” and lock it 30 days before a board meeting. Community members who qualify under the statute — defined by the district as parents of current students, district employees, students age 18 or older, and district residents — will be able to review the list on the library services web page and submit a web form indicating which SB13 guideline they believe is violated. District staff said the list will be posted and the link to the feedback form will be public during the 30‑day window.

If a legal concern is submitted that staff deems valid, the title will be removed from the board approval list for further review. If a title is formally challenged while in the district catalog, the board noted that Senate Bill 13 requires removal of the title from circulation during the formal challenge. The district said the Texas Education Agency will make an official book challenge form available around Sept. 1.

District librarians will continue routine collection management, including informal campus-level reviews and weeding. Instructional materials purchased for curriculum (textbooks, novels bought with instructional materials funds) are not subject to the SB13 board-approval process; classroom libraries likewise are outside the routine approval process but must remove a title if the board denies it. The district reported about 1,500 new titles were added districtwide last year and showed parents may receive nightly Destiny emails (around 6 p.m.) listing their child’s checked-out items. The district also presented a parents’ self-service option called “Roots and Reads” that allows parents to view and set checkout restrictions via Destiny using the Skyward account email.

The board approved the new library policy, EFB-local, by unanimous vote.