Texas SB 13 School Library Tracker: District Policies, Book Reviews & Parent Rights

Texas at a glance

Parent access and individual choices

SB 13 was signed June 20, 2025 and took effect September 1, 2025. Its transition provision applies to the 2025–26 school year. The enrolled text, rather than a proposed bill or a headline, is the starting point. Texas Legislature: SB 13 history Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Catalog access and restrictions — §33.023. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools must adopt a policy giving parents access to the library catalog and a way to submit specific materials their own child may not check out or otherwise use outside the school library. A physical or electronic form or an online catalog may provide that route; prohibited items on the parent’s list cannot be made available to that child. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Checkout records — §33.024. A district or charter using a learning-management system or online learning portal must provide parents a record each time their child checks out or otherwise uses library material outside the library, including title, author, genre and return date when applicable. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Acquisitions, public review and board responsibility

Policy and standards — §§33.020–33.022, 33.026. District boards must adopt acquisition policies covering purchases and donations, consistent with the mandatory collection standards. The library-material definition does not include instructional materials defined in §31.002 or materials procured through TexShare. Section 33.0205 preserves materials necessary for the essential knowledge and skills curriculum. These categories should not be collapsed. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Section 33.021 addresses harmful material, specified sexually explicit material, pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable material, indecent or profane content and links to prohibited content. It applies across physical libraries, classroom libraries and digital catalogs. It also prohibits removal solely because of a work’s ideas or the personal background of its author or characters. A topic, author identity or a complaint is not by itself a finding under the statute. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

At least 30 days — §33.026. Post the proposed acquisition list publicly for at least 30 days. Trustees approve or reject the proposal in an open meeting at the first meeting on or after that period expires. An established council advises before acquisition and may meet during the public-review period. Donated materials require approval for the appropriate grade levels before student access. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Statutory exceptions include a replacement for a lost or damaged item with the same ISBN, an additional copy of a current title, and a previously approved same-ISBN material for the same grade levels. Local feedback links and meeting procedures vary; a public list is not a final purchase approval. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Advisory councils and qualifying petitions

Trigger — §33.025. A district may create a local school library advisory council voluntarily. A qualifying petition from parents of at least 10% of enrolled students or 50 parents, whichever is fewer, makes creation mandatory. A council created after such a petition cannot be abolished before its third anniversary. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

The council has at least five members, with equal numbers appointed by each trustee. A majority of voting members must be parents of enrolled students who are not district employees, and one of those parents chairs it. The statute permits specified nonvoting participants. Council advice includes additions, challenged removals, parental catalog policies and acquisition exceptions; trustees retain the assigned final decisions. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

At least two meetings each school year are required. Notice is posted at least 72 hours beforehand on the district site and campus administrative bulletin boards. Minutes and an audio or video recording go to the district within 10 days, then are posted as soon as practicable. Districts without a council still must use compliant procedures and the applicable meeting requirements. A generic committee or its name alone does not establish all these conditions. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Formal challenges, recommendations and appeals

Eligible filers — §33.027. An enrolled student’s parent or person standing in parental relation, a district employee or a district resident may challenge material using the TEA form and identify the standards allegedly violated. Keep the filing and receipt dates; a public comment alone is not necessarily a formal challenge. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

If a council is established, the district supplies the challenge by the fifth day after receipt and the council recommends by the 90th day after its receipt. Board action occurs at the first open meeting after the applicable statutory trigger: the 90th day after district receipt or receipt of the council recommendation. An appeal is considered at the first open meeting after it is filed. Consult the exact subsection for the applicable pathway. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Where a council relies on a review committee, the statute specifies at least five board-appointed members, a majority of whom are enrolled students’ parents who are not district employees, and the notice/recording rules. During formal review students cannot access the challenged material. A final removal triggers notice to teachers at the appropriate grade level to remove classroom copies. For retained material, the board need not take new action on another challenge before the second anniversary of its retention decision. Texas SB 13, enrolled text

Implementation timeline

1. 2025-06-20Governor signed SB 13. Texas Legislature: SB 13 history
2. Before the first day of 2025–26Section 7 specifies acquisition-policy adoption before the school year. TEA’s August 28 letter describes adoption before the first day or the first scheduled meeting after school begins; these are distinct source formulations. TEA implementation letter
3. 2025-09-01SB 13 effective date; transition applies to 2025–26. Texas SB 13, enrolled text
4. 2026-03-10Revised mandatory collection standards became effective after final rule adoption; do not rely on earlier draft-rule or committee-only accounts. Texas Register: adopted library collection standards
5. 2026-04-01Statutory deadline for state standards revision; final standards had taken effect March 10. Texas SB 13, enrolled text
6. 2026-10-09WorthFighting research baseline and publication snapshot.

Five district document trackers

What implementation evidence is available?

The original report compares policy evidence, parent catalog routes, checkout controls, councils and acquisition records across the 16-district sample. It includes stronger records and unresolved gaps without treating either as statewide prevalence.

Read the October 2026 implementation report or search the database.

Direct answers for Texas parents

How we verify implementation

WorthFighting researches official records first: enacted law and agency rules; district policies; board minutes and orders; council records; district registers, forms and catalogs. Agendas establish scheduled business, not an outcome. District summaries are attributed and are checked against more specific records when available.

This is a purposive research sample, not a census or a compliance ranking. We selected districts for document quality, current implementation, council activity, significant decisions, usable parent procedures and recurring public-record value. Search opportunity is an editorial assessment, not measured search volume or population coverage.

Each record separates a source’s date, an event date and our October 9, 2026 verification date. Month-only dates remain month-only. A live link is not proof that all underlying facts are current. Parent accounts, private student records and every campus holding were not accessed. Missing evidence is labeled; it is never converted into a negative finding.

Official law and guidance library

1. Texas SB 13, enrolled textSource date/context: 2025-06-20 · checked 2026-10-09Primary authority; Education Code §§33.020–33.027 and transition sections.
2. Texas Legislature: SB 13 historySource date/context: 2025-06-20 · checked 2026-10-09Governor signed June 20; effective September 1, 2025.
3. TEA implementation letterSource date/context: 2025-08-28 · checked 2026-10-09
4. TSLAC school-library collection standardsSource date/context: 2026-06-08 · checked 2026-10-09Current agency landing page.
5. Texas Register: adopted library collection standardsSource date/context: 2026-03-06 · checked 2026-10-09Final rule effective March 10, 2026.
6. TSLAC 2026 standards FAQSource date/context: 2026-05 · checked 2026-10-09

Update log

October 9, 2026: Initial evidence snapshot published. Five district trackers, 16 comparison profiles and 27 selected title records. Current-status gaps, policy-version conflicts and incomplete dates are explicitly retained. This page is a dated snapshot; no automatic future update is implied.