Humble ISD trustees voted to reduce the size of the district’s school library advisory council from 21 members to 7 during a special board meeting on June 16.

Background

The council was established in October as part of Senate Bill 13, which expands parental rights to review and question instructional and library materials used in the district. The bill allows districts to form local school library advisory councils if at least 50 parents or 10% of the parents in the district, whichever is less, sign a petition requesting a council.

Trustee Elizabeth Shaw noted that the committee is still a work in progress and that district officials are determining what methods work best. Trustee Chris Parker believed that the smaller committee would be more effective, stating that working with 21 members would be hard to manage and navigate.

Role of the Council

The school library advisory council provides recommendations related to adding new library materials, reviewing materials following a formal challenge, updating policies or guidelines related to library collections, and additional duties related to school libraries. Any resident can submit complaints about books in a district’s library under SB 13.

Original reporting: Community Impact — Houston — read the source article.