District staff presented proposed revisions to EFB local, the policy governing instructional and library materials, and trustees voted to adopt the changes as part of a packet of policy updates on Aug. 7.
Staff said the updated policy implements new requirements and guidance from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and recent legislation. Key changes include a board-approval step for material acquisition lists: campus librarians will post proposed purchases online for at least 30 days and the board must vote to approve the posted list before purchase. Staff said the change will lengthen procurement timelines for new titles and require additional operational coordination.
Administrators described the revised challenge process'now called "challenge" rather than "reconsideration"'and noted that when a title is challenged it will be restricted from circulation during the review. The formal challenge process will include published meeting notices, recorded minutes or audio/video, and an appeal path that can come to the board. The policy also requires removal of a title from both campus library and classroom libraries if the review committee votes to remove it.
District staff emphasized that challenges have been rare in the district (about five in 20 years) and that the district's librarians follow established collection-development criteria. Staff said they are developing operational procedures so parents can submit lists of titles they do not want their children to check out and so district systems can flag those titles in student records.
Why it matters: The new procedures give parents avenues to raise concerns and add a public, board-approved step to acquisition; administrators said they would work to minimize disruption for teachers and students while complying with the statute.
Next steps: Staff will post acquisition lists as required, finalize a parent-submission process for restricted-title requests, and train library staff and teachers on updated procedures. Administrators warned that purchasing some new titles may take at least six weeks because of the board-approval timing.