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Parents and authors urge Abilene ISD to remove books under SB 13; trustees point to existing challenge process
Summary
Multiple public commenters pressed the Abilene ISD Board to remove books they described as sexually explicit and said SB 13 requires prompt removal; district staff and trustees described an existing challenge process that temporarily removes challenged titles while a review committee (the "slack") considers them.
Multiple residents and an author of legislation spoke during public comment at the Abilene Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting, pressing the board to remove books they said violate SB 13 and asking the district to act now rather than only through a volunteer review committee.
Tammy Focal, who identified herself as monitoring library safety, told trustees she continues to find challenged titles in campus collections and said one example, Like a Love Story, contains sexually explicit passages. She urged officials to “remove these books,” and said she expected the board to exercise authority under state law. Bonnie Wallace, who said, “I helped write that bill,” told trustees that SB 13 requires any book with QR codes or websites in school libraries to be removed immediately and urged swift action.
Several commenters read or summarized explicit excerpts from contested books and argued those passages make the titles inappropriate for student access. Tali Mullins, a parent with four children in the district, said she had read most of the 27 challenged titles and asked why people who are not AISD parents can file challenges, contending community members with no direct stake should have less influence.
District staff and trustees replied that the district follows an established challenge process. Superintendent Dr. King and other staff explained that when a book is formally challenged it is removed from circulation while the scheduled review committee (the “slack”) reads the title and decides whether to return it. A staff member said the slack is currently reviewing 28 books and that committee meeting dates are posted publicly. Trustee remarks and staff responses noted the administrative ability to remove items from catalogs or shelves when the challenge process requires it.
The board did not take formal action on book-policy changes during the meeting. Trustees reiterated that there is an administrative challenge process and that removed books remain unavailable while the panel reviews them. Public commenters said the process should be accelerated and questioned the volunteer time required to review large numbers of books.
