Keller schools to consider adding ‘gender fluidity’ to list of off-limit book topics
Keller school board members will consider a ban on books that mention “gender fluidity” in library materials and instructional materials when they meet Monday.
“Gender fluidity” will be added to a content guideline list that includes profanity, horror, drug use and explicit sex.
The board adopted the content guidelines in August by a 4-2 vote, with Chris Roof and Ruthie Keyes voting against the proposal and Beverly Dixon abstaining.
In August, critics called the rating system overly vague, and cautioned that it could lead to large swaths of collections being removed.
“Out of the seven teachers that I spoke to, they said that they would have to remove two-thirds of their books,” Keyes said at the time. “And it’s not like those are talking about explicit sex scenes.”
According to the proposal, gender fluidity is “any theory or ideology” that includes the following:
- “Espouses the view that gender is merely a social construct.”
- “Espouses the view that it is possible for a person to be any gender or none based solely on that person’s feelings or preferences.”
- “Supports hormone therapy or other medial treatments or procedures to temporarily or permanently alter a person’s body or genetic make-up so that it ‘matches’ a self-believed gender that is different from the person’s biological sex (as determined by the person’s birth certificate made at or near the time of the person’s birth).”
The guidelines state that books recommended by universities or the Texas Virtual School Network, or tested through the College Board, are separate from the general library materials and are selected independently.
The policy followed a complaint from a parent that resulted in a Texas Education Agency investigation about library books with “sexually explicit content.” In October, the district removed “Gender Queer” from a school library after social media posts from parents.
Weeks later, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked the TEA to investigate “criminal activity” related to pornography in public schools.
Following the vote on the the updated guidelines, the board will consider a list of 257 books for the libraries. Titles include “ABC Cats,” “Library of Awesome Animals: Albatross,” “Little Riding Hood,” and “What You Never Knew about Patrick Mahomes.”
The board meets at 6 p.m. at the Education Center, 350 Keller Parkway.
This story was originally published November 14, 2022 at 1:30 PM.
