The Round Rock Independent School District Board of Trustees on Aug. 14 approved a revised local library-materials policy to comply with Senate Bill 13, which requires school boards to approve lists of library materials before acquisition and expands the processes for parents and residents to challenge materials.

The change, adopted as EFB(local), responds to a state law that: requires districts to publish prospective acquisition lists publicly; gives the board 30 days after a list is posted to approve or reject it; broadens who may file a challenge to include district residents as well as parents and employees; and establishes new public-meeting and recordkeeping requirements for reconsideration/challenge committees.

The adoption matters because it shifts a formal approval step to the locally elected board and adds procedural requirements administrators said will require new processes for library services and district staff.

District legal counsel Jasmine and library-services staff told trustees the policy follows statutory language and expands standards for library materials and for the conduct of challenge committees. "The board is required to either approve or reject the materials on that list 30 days after that list," Jasmine said. She noted that the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) will provide guidance and that the district likely will need to return to the board if TSLAC updates its standards.

Administrators outlined the practical limits written into the law: the requirement applies to new acquisitions, not every copy already on shelves, and replacement copies with the same ISBN are excluded from board review. The law also adds material-content standards and bars library materials that include a QR code or link to content prohibited by statute.

Trustees expressed concerns about the workload and the practicality of the board role in approving acquisition lists. "I just don't think it's appropriate and even sustainable to ask a trustee to review 28,000 books or even 100 books," Trustee Landrum said during debate. Landrum told colleagues she would either vote no or abstain rather than take on what she described as a technical, professional responsibility that typically falls to certified librarians.

Board discussion also covered the statute's new timeline and meeting rules for reconsideration panels: challenge committees must be publicly posted, meet with public notice and record proceedings under the same public-meeting rules that apply to other advisory committees. Jasmine said the state education agency (TEA) will issue a TEA-created form for challenges; that form is not yet available.

Trustees raised several practical questions administrators said they would address in guidance before the new rules take full effect. Administrators said library-services staff are developing a public posting process for acquisition lists and an internal workflow for bringing proposals to the board, and that they expect to publish related regulations and procedures online for public transparency.

The board vote to adopt EFB(local) was taken after a motion to waive first reading and adopt the policy; the motion carried and the policy was adopted. The roll-call discussion recorded Trustee Harrison voting in favor and multiple trustees abstaining during the vote; the motion carried and the administration moved to implement the new procedures.

The district will also monitor forthcoming state guidance and TSLAC standards and said it will return to the board if further statutory or agency changes require additional local-policy edits.

Ending: District staff said parents and residents will be given information about the revised process and where to find the published acquisition lists once the district’s library-services procedures are finalized.