Conroe ISD board leaves The Action Bible in circulation after unanimous vote

The Conroe Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously May 12 to leave The Action Bible: Heroes and Villains available in district libraries after a formal grievance review.

Rebecca Smith, speaking during the public-comment period, framed the issue in statutory terms, saying the book “does not meet the legal definition of pornographic, harmful, sexually explicit, indecent, profane, or pervasively vulgar material” under the Texas Education Code and Texas Penal Code §43.24 and urged the board to reject the grievance. Mark Brooks, who identified himself as the petitioner who submitted the grievance for the book, told the board he hoped the district would deny the challenge and urged consistent application of standards across challenged titles.

The board’s vote followed staff certification that the presented library materials complied with Texas Education Code §33.026, board policy EFB and Senate Bill 13. The motion to leave the book “where it is” was moved and seconded and carried with all seven trustees voting in favor.

The meeting included broader public comment about the district’s book-review process. Destiny Milton, a former CISD teacher and parent, said legitimate concerns about materials deserve review but that “the process that this board created for books was never about fairness. It was about politics,” and argued the policy limited the community’s ability to appeal board removals of materials.

The board did not announce additional procedural steps on the challenge at the meeting; trustees approved the library-materials adoption as presented and moved on to other agenda items.