A recent Texas law has introduced additional restrictions on the books that students can borrow from school libraries, with local bans gaining momentum in districts throughout the state.
The Texas Tribune reports that the Katy school board banned 14 titles including popular books by Dr. Seuss and Judy Blume, along with an award-winning children’s book “No, David!”. The district is aiming to control depictions of nudity; it has recently forbidden a book about a crayon that becomes “naked” after losing its wrapper.
This year continues the trend of book banning in Texas, with a new law mandating that booksellers rate public school library books for sexual content. Books deemed “patently offensive” will receive a “sexually explicit” rating, prohibiting their sale to schools and necessitating their removal from school library shelves. Meanwhile, books that generally reference or depict sex will be labeled “sexually relevant,” requiring parental consent for student access…