A North Texas school district appears to be the first to be investigated by the state education agency over whether it gave students access to books with 鈥渟exually explicit content,鈥� according to a letter sent to the district that was obtained by the Dallas Morning News.
The Texas Education Agency will determine whether the 35,000-student Keller Independent School District, north of Fort Worth, correctly evaluated books permitted in its school libraries and whether or not this led to students having access to inappropriate content, .
Officials from Keller ISD and the TEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Keller appears to be the first school district to be put under the state鈥檚 microscope reviewing how certain books are approved in public school libraries. This comes about a month after Gov. asked the to "the availability of pornography" in public schools, saying that the agency should refer such instances "for prosecution to the fullest extent of the law."
Abbott has also asked the agency, along with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the State Board of Education, to develop statewide standards preventing "obscene content in Texas public schools."
In late October, to remove a book from a high school library: 鈥淕ender Queer: A Memoir,鈥� by Maia Kobabe, a 239-page graphic novel depicting Kobabe鈥檚 journey of gender identity and sexual orientation. The book contains a few pages of explicit illustrations depicting oral sex, which outraged parents in the district.
鈥淕ender Queer鈥� has become and in Texas among some parents and Republican officials who say they鈥檙e worried public schools are trying to radicalize students with progressive teachings and literature.
State Rep. , R-Fort Worth, included Kobabe鈥檚 book in his inquiry into which books Texas schools have in their libraries. His list of 850 books included many about racism and sexuality.
While most school districts have ignored Krause鈥檚 inquiry, North East Independent School District in San Antonio is reviewing more than , and Katy Independent School District near Houston and asked parents to report any vulgar material.
This article originally appeared in at .