State Rep. Matt Krause said he will not be offering specifics related to his inquiry over which books about racism and sexuality are available at certain Texas public schools, such as how the roughly 850-book list included in his request originated, which districts received his letter or how those districts were chosen.
The Fort Worth Republican, who chairs the House General Investigating Committee, said he was limited in what he could say because it could compromise a potential or pending investigation. But House Democrats, many of whom have accused Krause of trying to censor progressive literature, are stressing that school districts are not compelled to respond.
Meanwhile, school districts were split over how to respond, with the Fort Worth Independent School District saying it will comply and the Austin Independent School District dismissing Krause鈥檚 inquiry. A number of other major Texas school districts told The Texas Tribune they were still reviewing the letter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the practice of the General Investigating Committee to not comment on pending or potential investigations,鈥� Krause, a candidate for state attorney general, told the Tribune on Friday. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to compromise anything with a potential investigation by divulging any of the information that鈥檚 supposed to be confidential and privileged.鈥�
Krause鈥檚 comments came days after the lawmaker notified the Texas Education Agency that he is 鈥渋nitiating an inquiry into Texas school district content,鈥� according to an Oct. 25 letter obtained by the Tribune.
Krause included in his letter a 16-page list of roughly 850 book titles and asked the districts whether they had those books, how many copies they had and how much money was spent on them. His letter didn鈥檛 provide information about his intentions or what possession of the books would mean for the districts.
Krause鈥檚 list of titles includes a number of bestsellers and award winners, including the 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 鈥淭he Confessions of Nat Turner鈥� by William Styron and 鈥淏etween the World and Me鈥� by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The list includes books that help kids respond to bullying and others that center on LGBTQ characters, in addition to telling stories about the Black Lives Matter movement.
The inquiry comes after the Texas Legislature passed two laws this year aimed at restricting how teachers can talk about race-related subjects in school, pushed by GOP lawmakers who have taken aim at so-called 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� in schools.
Krause referenced the laws in an interview with Dallas radio host Mark Davis on Friday morning and said his inquiry 鈥渃ould be a big benefit for those school districts who are going through the inventory to say, 鈥楬ey, do we have something that could be in violation [of state law] or do we not?鈥欌��
It鈥檚 unclear which Texas school districts have so far been targeted by Krause, but Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Round Rock, Northside and Spring Branch independent school districts all confirmed to the Tribune they had received his letter. Dallas ISD did not respond to a request for comment.
Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Kent Scribner said in a statement that the district will comply but maintained that the district follows all state-approved processes for selecting new textbooks for students.
鈥淎s for other reading material, our lead professional school librarian monitors reviews of new titles and consults with national clearing houses as well as other school librarians, educators, and parents to provide the best and latest titles for our students,鈥� Scribner said. 鈥淲e have a process for parents to request a review of any title found in their campus library that may help present a concern.鈥�
Scott Thomas, Austin ISD spokesperson, said the school district determined a 鈥渞esponse is not necessary, especially since anyone can search our library鈥� on a school website.
Jenny Caputo, the district spokesperson for Round Rock, said it would 鈥渢ake significant staff time to gather the information to reply to this request.鈥� The other school districts said they were still reviewing the request.
Democrats have stressed that Krause doesn鈥檛 have subpoena power, which the lawmaker agreed with Friday by characterizing his inquiry as an attempt to find out 鈥渨hether something needs to be followed up with or not.鈥�
In a memo to its members and staffers earlier this week, the House Democratic Caucus wrote that while Krause 鈥渕ay act on behalf of the whole committee to 鈥榠nspect the records, documents, and files鈥� of school districts鈥� thanks to a motion adopted by committee members earlier this year, the lawmaker鈥檚 authority does not extend to requiring school districts to create new documents related to his inquiry.
Democrats have also questioned why the lawmaker has declined to specify where that book list originated or how certain school districts were chosen.
鈥淚n my view, this isn鈥檛 an investigation 鈥� this is a fishing expedition,鈥� state Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat who chairs his party鈥檚 caucus in the lower chamber, told the Tribune. 鈥淚t鈥檚 completely legitimate to ask where the list of books came from and how that was formulated, as well as how the list of school districts [Krause] sent this to was formulated. There鈥檚 no reason that those questions cannot be answered.鈥�
Earlier Friday, Krause told Davis, the Dallas radio host, that the some 850-book list isn鈥檛 鈥渆xhaustive鈥� or 鈥渆xclusive,鈥� and that a book included did not necessarily mean that it needed to be removed from library shelves.
鈥淚t just means that it has some content in it that may be touched by new provisions that were passed by the Texas Legislature,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 always important for the Legislature to know the effects of what it鈥檚 doing 鈥� is it too broad, is it too narrow, is it too precise, is it not broad enough?鈥�
Krause鈥檚 vice chair on the committee, Dallas Democrat Victoria Neave, who did not respond to a request for comment Friday, called Krause鈥檚 move 鈥測et another attempt by Republicans to censor the voices of people of color鈥� in a statement earlier this week that was supported by other groups including the House Democratic Caucus, LGBTQ Caucus, Texas Legislative Black Caucus and Mexican American Legislative Caucus.
Other Democrats like Turner have suggested that Krause鈥檚 move is 鈥渃learly a campaign stunt鈥� as part of his bid challenging Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. At least three Republicans are vying to unseat Paxton. Krause, for his part, said he would not have used an issue 鈥渢hat I thought was going to be completely private and that I can鈥檛 comment on.鈥�
Meanwhile, state Rep. Jeff Cason, R-Bedford, called on Paxton on Friday to initiate a statewide investigation into a novel that the lawmaker said 鈥渢ouches on subjects that are not appropriate for school libraries and may even be criminal for its representation of minors participating in sexual activities.鈥� Cason also asked Paxton to investigate other books of similar matter 鈥渁s well as the legal ramifications to school districts that approved of these types of books.鈥�
The attorney general鈥檚 office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.