Fort Worth ISD libraries closed to students for 2 weeks as over 100 books are under review
Libraries in the Fort Worth Independent School District are inaccessible to students for the first two weeks of school as officials review book titles for sexually explicit or violent content, in accordance with a new state law, officials said Wednesday. Amid this process, more than 100 titles have been removed from shelves, and the former director of library media services has switched roles.
Libraries are closed through Aug. 25, and the books pulled from shelves have been transferred to the district’s professional library, according to Fort Worth ISD spokesperson John Cope. Librarians returned to school a week before students did on Monday, which began a three-week process to sort through titles across all schools and grades.
“The process, at that point, should be over, and we’ll happily welcome our students back into the library and continue to serve them the best we can,” Cope said.
Additionally, Victor Chapa, the district’s former director of library media services, now appears to work as a social sciences teacher at Marine Creek Collegiate High School, according to the school’s website. Cope declined to confirm Chapa’s new position or further details about the change because it’s a personnel matter, which is confidential, he said.
The interim director of library media services is Ross Teller, who has more than a decade of experience with library and media, Cope said.
The changes in library services and leadership come about two weeks after the Tarrant County chapter of Citizens Defending Freedom announced an independent audit of Fort Worth ISD’s middle and high school libraries, which found more than 100 “age-appropriate” books. The nonprofit organization, endorsed by conservative figures such as Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA and Mike Lindell of MyPillow, has been vocal in book debates, especially in Florida.
Over the summer, the district pulled three books from elementary and middle school libraries that officials had determined to be inappropriate: “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe, “Flamer” by Mike Curato and “Wait What? A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up” by Heather Corinna.
A Texas state law requiring vendors that sell books to schools to assign a rating to titles, based on depictions or references of sexual content, goes into effect Sept. 1. But the state criteria outlining those ratings might not be available until April, Cope said.
As a result, it’s unclear when the final call will be made regarding what books under review stay off shelves or return to libraries.
This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 2:27 PM.
