Pearland Independent School District trustees voted Nov. 11 to approve a list of about 20 deferred library titles that librarians had re-reviewed after board requests in August and September. The decision follows public comment from district and university librarians urging professional review and a lengthy trustee discussion of transparency, policy and parental controls.

Erin Sterling, identified as a research and instruction librarian at the University of Houston–Clear Lake, told the board, "AI Chat GPT is not meant for a school board to use in order to choose books that will be put in our school's libraries." Sterling urged trustees to rely on trained librarians and professional review sources when selecting materials.

Sabaterra Middle School librarian Rachel Welsh described the district’s selection process as "deliberate, professional, and always guided by district policy and educational purpose," citing reviews such as School Library Journal and Kirkus that librarians use to evaluate educational value and age appropriateness.

Board members repeatedly referenced compliance with state law during the discussion. Superintendent Larry Berger said the deferred list had been produced using a rubric that considered EFB local policy and Senate Bill 13 guidance; he told trustees the librarians provided additional documentation requested by the board. "We go off of EFB local, also the library standards that our librarians have to use," Berger said.

Trustees debated whether to expedite approval of routine lists and rely on the formal challenge process for contested books or to create a broader parent opt‑out system. President Crystal Carbone and multiple trustees supported asking Follett, the district’s catalog vendor, to allow parents to exclude materials by subject headings or tags at the start of the school year. Trustee Sean Murphy noted that in his 10 years on the board there had been one formal book challenge, but he acknowledged higher circulation this year: Dawson High School circulation rose to 2,690 checkouts through Nov. 11, about 195% of last year’s total at that campus.

During discussion trustees emphasized process clarity. Trustee Nanette Weimer and others asked that any opt‑out mechanism be user friendly and not place undue burden on librarians. Berger said staff would meet with Follett to explore whether the vendor can enable subject-based exclusions and to return to the board with policy-implementation options.

The board voted to approve the deferred list and retained the existing reconsideration process: challenges go to a campus-created committee and may be appealed to the board. The motion carried unanimously among trustees present (6–0, one trustee absent). The board also asked staff to pursue an opt‑out implementation and to bring any recommended policy changes back to the board for consideration.

What’s next: staff will meet with Follett and report back on technical options and a proposed approach to integrating opt‑in/opt‑out choices and any needed policy amendments.