Texas Freedom to Read Project

hesherman1.substack.com“Little Shop” Gets “Frozen” Out at South Grand Prairie High in TexasSchool board cites 2025’s Anti-DEI Senate Bill 12, Not 2023’s Anti-Drag SB12

Have you been following GPISD’s decision to revoke the casting of a female student in the lead of Little Shop of Horrors? Turns out they cancelled her role and the show due to SB 12 - the “DEI ban”- not the “drag ban.” This story keeps getting dumber. hesherman1.substack.com/p/little-sho...

hesherman1.substack.com“Little Shop of Horrors” Closed for Business at South Grand Prairie High in TexasSuddenly, Seymour is Silenced by an Unconstitutional Law

Pass stupid laws. Win stupid prizes.

Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social

Texas high school shut down a production of "Little Shop of Horrors" after a girl was cast as Seymour. School cited Senate Bill 12, best known for its anti-drag provisions...but the law has twice been ruled unconstitutional. From @hesherman.bsky.social: hesherman1.substack.com/p/little-sho...

TX lawmakers were repeatedly warned by parents, students, civil rights & free speech experts that laws like SB 12 (drag ban), SB 12 (anti-inclusion/“DEI ban”), HB 900 and SB 13 (school library censorship laws)- would result in overreach by the government, & an infringement on students rights.

This cancellation of a student play in GPISD is just the latest predicable consequence to pointless laws passed to solve politically manufactured problems.

It's Banned Books Week & our report is out! They say everything is bigger in Texas & that includes book bans. TX leads the country in removing & restricting books in libraries. Read more about our report, how we gathered the data, & the full report on our website. www.txftrp.org/one_year_of_...

Legislation & threats in TX are leading to over compliance & mass censorship. Librarians are being forced to quietly (often secretly) remove hundreds, sometimes thousands of books or risk losing their jobs.The educational needs of students isn’t even being considered in much of the decision making.

txftrp.orgReport: Book Bans in Texas. One Year of SB 12 and SB 13 in School Libraries.Report: Tracking the Effects of Senate Bill 12, Senate Bill 13, and House Bill 900 in 2025-2026 by Texas Freedom to Read Project

Read the full report here: www.txftrp.org/one_year_of_...

Texas Freedom to Read Project reposted

Laney Hawes

@laneyhawes.bsky.social

Hey fellow Fellow Texans & Public school parents everywhere, you need to read this report! ⬇️ We need more of us to take a stand against outside forces coming in to dismantle our kids education. Censorship isn’t driven by parents, it’s driven by politicians & their activists.

Texas Freedom to Read Project@txfreedomread.bsky.social

Parents are not driving censorship. Parents don’t want to ban books. Parents have real concerns about their children’s education & well-being and it isn’t non existent“unicorn genitals,” in children’s books.

Texas Freedom to Read Project reposted

Frank Strong

@frankstrong.bsky.social

Christin's wrong about almost everything, but right about this: This committee hearing matters & real Texas parents need to let lawmakers know the effects of SB12 & SB13. @txfreedomread.bsky.social will be there with a TON of data about the damage these laws have done. Bring your stories!

txftrp.orgShare your SB 12 & SB 13 story with the Senate Education Committee.Make your voice heard. Interim Hearing. October 7, 2026. Texas Capitol. Austin, TX. E1.028. Meeting starts at 8AM.

🚨Meeting alert! Texas Senate Education Committee: Interim Hearing Wednesday, October 7: 8AM Texas Capitol Extension (Austin, TX): Room E1.028 Add your SB 12 and SB 13 library story to the TX record on these bills. More details and information on our website: www.txftrp.org/share_your_s...

huffpost.com‘Parents Aren’t Asking For This’: The Biggest Signs MAGA Is Taking Over Your Kid’s SchoolThere are certain indicators that can distinguish an ordinary disagreement from something larger.

Texas Freedom to Read Project cofounder, Anne Russey, and other parent advocates from across the country, spoke with Huff Post reporter, @mwadzeckkraus.bsky.social about signs you may notice that indicate a coordinated censorship movement, and how to fight back. www.huffpost.com/entry/maga-m...

thehill.comVance defends Trump’s media ban as ‘totally appropriate’Vice President Vance, who has long cast himself as a champion of free speech, defended President Trump’s ban on three outlets from the White House, calling the move “totally appropriate” on M…

The vice president’s arguments about why banning certain journalists & media outlets from the White House is totally fine, sounds a lot like the arguments state & local governments have made about why banning certain books from school & public libraries is totally fine. thehill.com/homenews/adm...

jta.orgAfter outcry, Texas lieutenant governor says schools should teach Holocaust books ‘Night,’ ‘Anne Frank’ - Jewish Telegraphic AgencyDan Patrick sought to clarify his earlier positions on ‘vulgar books’ in a statement to JTA.

18 Sept

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick finally decided to LOOK at the list of 2200 books he demanded be removed from Texas schools & that he claimed were “dirty, filthy, & pornographic.” Maybe he realized students should learn about the horrors of the holocaust & racism? www.jta.org/2026/09/18/u...

18 Sept

And in a sudden change of heart, Lt Governor Patrick rightfully acknowledged, “As the law states, local communities have the right to make their own decisions about their public school libraries.” TX School Districts, take note- we’re looking at you Spring Branch, Northwest, & Dallas ISDs!

@heykellyjensen.bsky.social

18 Sept

And any of the rest of you TX districts who started pulling books from Patrick’s ridiculous lists, put them back! Stop giving in to these censorship activists & politicians. If you’re a parent of public school students, find out from your school librarians if they have been asked to remove books.

Texas Freedom to Read Project reposted

kelly jensen

trulytexas.txla.orgLibraries: Truly TexasExplore Libraries: Truly Texas, TLA's research hub showcasing public opinion polling and economic impact data on Texas libraries. Discover why libraries matter.

Texas public libraries generate roughly $5 to the economy for every $1 invested. New study from the Texas Library Association is a bounty of data about the power of libraries. trulytexas.txla.org

Texas Senate Bill 13 allows anyone (including Dan Patrick and Bonnie Wallace) to formally challenge books in the school district in which they live. Every district should respond to every request or demand to remove any library book, by following their EFB Local library materials policy.

If your Texas school district is reacting to Dan Patrick’s threats by removing books from your shelves without formal or transparent reconsideration of the titles- let us know, and we will alert other parents, trustees, and supporters in your community. DM us or email us at info[at]txftrp[dot]org

txftrp.orgTexas Freedom to Read Project Response to Dan Patrick's Attacks on School Libraries, Librarians, and Students' Rights to Read.Censorship, not books, is the real threat to Texas kids, according to Texas parents.

Visit www.txftrp.org/censorship_n... to learn more.

Every school library censorship law our state has passed (HB 900, SB 12, and SB 13) gives local PARENTS and school boards- not outsiders, or even state politicians- oversight responsibility for our school libraries.

If your district already pulled Dan Patrick’s books from shelves, ask - or demand- that they return them to circulation- or involve parents (and ideally, librarians!) in a transparent, community driven reconsideration process.

Texas District administrators and school boards take note: the people parading around the state the last 5 years demanding the removal of books from school libraries 👏🏻 are 👏🏻 not 👏🏻 YOUR 👏🏻public 👏🏻 school 👏🏻 parents. 👏🏻

They are *mostly* political activists or people who don’t have any children enrolled in your schools. Like Dan Patrick. Like Bonnie Wallace. Like that local Moms for Liberty chapter leader. Like the homeschool mom. Like the traveling “pastors.” SO PLEASE STOP CAVING TO THEIR DEMANDS.

Texas parents, students, and staff NEED our district administrators and school boards to stand in the gap- between politicians and activists and censorship. We literally cannot do it without you. Please help us.

If a Texas district feels the need to internally or informally review the books on Dan and Bonnie’s (absurd) list of 2000+ titles, they should be transparent about the fact that they are doing so, and involve librarians and PARENTS of currently enrolled students in that review process.

As we saw in 2021 in response to the Krause List, we are hearing reports of school district administrators ordering 2000+ books off of library shelves, in response to Dan and Bonnie’s threats.

We understand that the current reality for public schools in Texas, is that there is very little (if any) incentive for school districts to risk leaving politically targeted books on school library shelves. But that doesn’t mean the answer is to throw your policies out the window, & remove them.

Importantly, no Texas law requires school districts yank books off of shelves, that have not been *formally challenged.* Even if the person complaining is the Lieutenant Governor of Texas.

@thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social

Politicians challenging and demanding the removal of school library books isn’t new. This current wave of censorship, can be traced back to 2021 when (then) Representative Matt Krause sent out a list of 850 books with demands the books be reported and reviewed, to every Texas district.

Texas Freedom to Read Project reposted

The Librarians Film

8 Sept

The best part about winning the Emmy® for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking? Celebrating alongside some of our courageous librarians who joined us at the awards ceremony with their favorite banned books! Stories like theirs have power. And we can’t allow censorship to silence them.

Texas Freedom to Read Project reposted

kelly jensen

@heykellyjensen.bsky.social

8 Sept

I've launched a new limited-run podcast. Liberating Lit brings to listeners the advocacy origin stories of the people who have been defending the right to read and championing literature, with the goal to inspire new advocates and refill the cups of those feeling depleted.