A Texas school district is scrambling to explain to parents why officials temporarily removed Bibles from school library shelves over concerns about the Bible's “sexually explicit” content. There is.
This month, Superintendent Darryl Frousche apparently acknowledged this in a written statement: email Canyon Independent School District, which includes the south side of Amarillo, has removed “the entire Bible” from the district's library to comply with HB 900, a law aimed at keeping inappropriate sexual content out of schools, according to Christian. Reported in the Post. Texas classroom.
“Library content standards prohibit books with even one occurrence of sexual content,” Frousche wrote to The Christian Post, according to a shared screenshot. texas. “…HB900 therefore prevents the availability of many books, including the entire text of the Bible, in school libraries.”
In the suspicious email, Frousche said that Bible excerpts are still available in the library, that the district maintains “strong ties to local churches,” and that any church can contact interested students. He said he would be happy to provide a copy of the entire Bible.
He advised parents who don't like the Bible ban to contact their state legislators and ask them to reconsider HB900.
“It seems ridiculous to me that good books should be thrown out with the bad ones.”
However, his parents did not react the way he expected. As word of the Bible ban spread, parents and lawmakers alike criticized the school district for its absurd interpretation of HB 900, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a year ago.
HB900 It bans classroom materials that “depict, depict, or depict sexual acts” in a manner that is “patently offensive” unless the content is “directly related” to the required curriculum.
Regina Keene, a mother in Canyon ISD, said: texas scorecard: “The Bible has great value and should be valued in the Texas school system.”
“It seems ridiculous to me that good books should be thrown away with bad books,” Keene told school officials, according to the newspaper.
Jamie Haines, described by Texas Scored as a “conservative activist” living in the Texas Panhandle, was similarly outraged by the ban. “HB 900 was never intended to remove Bibles from Texas public schools,” Haynes said. “Whether this decision was made in bad faith, misadvised, or simply out of a lack of common sense, the Bible upon which this nation was founded was immediately brought to the Canyon ISD library. needs to be returned.”
State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Denton) also took action, sending Frousche. letter It warned that the district's policies may violate the law.
“Let me be clear: the Bible and other religious texts are protected under HB 900. Any claims to the contrary are either rooted in ignorance of state law or outright hostility to the will of the people. Either,” Patterson wrote.
“Honestly, I don't understand how they came to this decision,” Patterson continued, noting that the Bible is “the most important and most read book in history.”
“You probably don't agree with our fight against extreme explicit content in public schools like Canyon ISD. Not only is your interpretation of HB 900 completely wrong, but your idea of banning the Bible is The decision was probably illegal.”
In response to the pressure campaign, the district initially stood its ground, claiming that “recent news reports” about the ban “do not tell the whole story” and repeatedly asserting that Bible stories are still available in schools.
However, according to Amarillo Globe NewsJust 24 hours later, the school district issued a further statement announcing that the ban was officially rescinded and the Bibles were returned to school libraries.
“The initial removal of Bibles was done in line with House Bill 900, which mandates stricter oversight of educational materials to ensure they meet Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards,” the statement said. Ta. “Canyon ISD has conducted a thorough review of its library content to comply with the latest state guidelines, with the goal of maintaining an inclusive and legally compliant educational environment.”
“After receiving clarification from Congressman Patterson regarding library content, we reevaluated our guidelines and are pleased to have Bibles available in each Canyon ISD library,” the statement continued. new york post.
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