With a growing number of titles banned across the district, some teachers in Conroe ISD were asked to box up and return thousands of books from their classroom collections.In November 2023, Conroe ISD trustees, not unlike other Texas public school districts as of late, decided they needed to get tougher about books on their shelves.
According to district records, over 30 library titles have been banned since November, with six removed from junior high shelves, of which four are pending review at the high school level. Per February's advisory list, another ten books may be restricted or removed depending on the outcome likely decided later this month.
Although most of the over 60 books this parent request to be removed remained on shelves and in classrooms, 15 were restricted to certain grade levels or banned entirely. Another four titles were initially removed before winter break but then were re-designated as"Parent & Counselor Resources." The instructor took to Facebook to post a photo of the books packed in boxes. The teacher said at least 40 people, including Advanced Placement instructors, were begging for these titles. Frank Strong, co-director of the Texas Freedom to Read Project, re-shared the teacher's photos on"Often the only way this gets noticed is if a teacher sees the books being removed or a teacher gets an email saying to remove books because it doesn't happen at a board meeting," Strong said.
Russey said district personnel don't indicate why a removed or restricted book does not meet district criteria. Instead of classifying whether the work is educationally unsuitable or pervasively vulgar, they only state that it does not meet the standards outlined in the district's local regulation policies for approved library and instructional materials.
“A lot of teachers are just plain nervous,” the teacher said. “Teachers who have taught for years and are now substitutes — because they retired — don’t want to bring attention to themselves. They are scared.” "It's a deliberative process. It can be frustratingly slow. I understand that. But, it is a rational, calm process that makes sense and seems to work," Strong said."Whereas, the internal review process inherently lacks transparency, because we don't know necessarily what the criteria are, how books are being measured against the criteria or who is doing it."
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