Residents and parents urge district to preserve librarians’ control, caution on SLAC committee

College Station ISD trustees heard more than half a dozen public comments on Aug. 7 about the district’s response to new state law requiring districts to decide whether to form a School Library Advisory Committee, commonly called a SLAC. Speakers representing parents, children’s authors and neighborhood groups told the board they trust professional librarians and warned against giving an external committee decision-making power over library collections.

The comments came during the meeting’s public-comment period. Ryan Beasley, a parent, said the board should “trust teachers and librarians to understand what is developmentally appropriate for children” and asked trustees, “do not establish a SLAC unless it’s required.” Lisa Martinez, who identified herself as a CSISD parent and College Station resident, urged the board to ensure “both legally compliant options for implementing SB 13” remain available and warned the resolution presented to the board lacked a cost analysis. “Both options do comply with state law,” she said, asking that parents be allowed to follow the options provided by statute.

Juliette Cockrell, a Pebble Creek parent, spoke on a separate agenda item but returned to library concerns in tone, and Natalia Goldberg, a children’s-book author and parent, told trustees that heavy procedural requirements could delay librarians from purchasing books students want and that “we don’t want to be putting up barriers that keep our kids from libraries and from reading.”

Board member Chrissy Hester, who introduced the item on the SLAC, said she had met with librarians and others since the law’s rapid passage and withdrew the item from a vote at the Aug. 7 meeting. “I am taking that off the vote. I don’t want that voted on. I don’t even want to vote on that,” Hester said, and told trustees the board has until Sept. 1 to adopt an approach. She asked trustees to review two options (option 1: no SLAC; option 2: form a SLAC) and said the matter will appear on the Aug. 19 agenda for action.

Hester and administrators explained the practical effect of either option under Senate Bill 13 and related statutes: the board must now vote when the district adds or removes library materials, and if 50 or more parents (or 10% of the student population, whichever is fewer) petition for a SLAC, the district must form one. Hester emphasized that a SLAC would be advisory and would not replace librarians’ duties: “The SLAC operates kinda like a DEIC. They make recommendations. The board can take the recommendations. The board doesn’t have to take their recommendations.”

Speakers repeatedly urged trustees to preserve librarians’ professional discretion and to limit any SLAC role to advisory functions, not collection development or purchasing. Several speakers also asked the board to allow existing communication tools (such as the district’s catalog alerts) to improve transparency before creating additional layers of oversight.

The board did not vote on the SLAC resolution on Aug. 7 and will revisit the item at the Aug. 19 meeting. Administrators said legal deadlines require the district to have an approach in place by Sept. 1 but that trustees may choose between the two statutory-compliant options and may delay formal adoption to allow more staff and community input.

Ending — Next steps

Trustees directed staff to distribute the option materials and to return the item to the Aug. 19 agenda. Officials said they will provide clarifying materials for parents and post the two options and supporting documents online so the public can review them before the board’s next meeting.