Fort Worth ISD libraries back open after review of books on shelves

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Campus libraries are now open, but the district now has its eyes on more than 100 books it’s pulled that might be inappropriate.

FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth ISD opened school libraries on Monday for the first time this school year. They were closed to catalog book collections for inappropriate material.

Campus libraries are now open, but the district now has its eyes on more than 100 books it’s pulled that might be inappropriate.

A speaker was removed from Fort Worth ISD’s board of education meeting last week after he began to read an excerpt from a book some parents believe is sexually explicit.

Now, that book is one of 118 book titles removed from the shelves of Fort Worth ISD libraries as the district reviews if those 118 books are "developmentally appropriate."

"Just making sure that they’re developmentally appropriate for students," said Dr. Ross Teller, interim director of library services. "It is my goal to get these books through this process as quickly as possible."

For now, Teller says the books are inaccessible to kids in the district.

Public school libraries are back open to students in the Fort Worth Independent School District after a review of all books for inappropriate material. Some books did not make it back on the shelf. FOX 4's Dan Godwin explains why and talks about what's next in the process.

The district temporarily closed all campus libraries at the start of the school year to inventory its book collections. It picked the 118 titles for review during that process.

"To me, that number doesn’t seem surprising. We are the fifth largest district in the state," Teller said. "There are, you know, thousands and thousands of titles in the collection."

Some community members have consistently voiced concern about the content in some books.

Last month, FOX 4 reported that Fort Worth ISD identified several titles, including "Gender Queer" as "not appropriate for elementary or middle school student library collections." Those books are included in the 118.

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Fort Worth ISD says the person in charge of the catalog at its school libraries is now in a different role. All of the libraries are shut down right now while the district does a full assessment of the books on their shelves. It comes after three books had to be removed before the school year started.

"The community will still see them on the catalog," Teller said. "Those books are currently not available for circulation, though."

In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 900, which will mandate school districts review the material in their collections rated "sexually relevant" by vendors beginning in 2025.

However, Teller believes House Bill 900 will not be a significant change to the way Fort Worth ISD analyzes its books.

Last week’s board meeting is an indication that the concern over graphic books is not going away.

List of Challenged Books:

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