A Texas school district that removed Bibles over a new law banning “sexually explicit” content has been told that stripping Bibles from library shelves is wrong and “likely illegal.” Withdrawn.
Canyon Independent School District sparked outrage earlier this month when it announced it would remove religious texts to comply with a state law banning books with “explicit” content.
But Texas Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Denton), who sponsored the newly enacted House Bill 900, quickly pointed out that his bill specifically protects religious texts, including the Bible, and immediately annulled the decision.
“The Bible is the most important and most read book in history, and removing it would be a grave injustice to the students it teaches,” the Republican representative said. said in a letter He fired at Canyon ISD Superintendent Darryl Frousche.
“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,” he wrote.
“Honestly, I don't understand how they came to this decision,” Patterson continued.
“Maybe you don't agree with our fight against extreme explicit content in public schools like Canyon ISD. Your interpretation of HB 900 is not only completely wrong, it also bans the Bible. Your decision was probably illegal.
The district said the initial decision was the result of “a thorough review of library content to comply with the latest state guidelines, with the goal of maintaining an inclusive and legally compliant educational environment.” .
But the state was reevaluating its decision after the state Legislature said it should not include the Bible.
“After receiving clarification from Congressman Patterson regarding library content, we reevaluated our guidelines and are pleased to have Bibles available in each of the Canyon ISD libraries,” the statement said.
