Keller ISD Parents Call On School Board To Remove Sexually Explicit Books Or Resign
by J.D. Miles | CBS 11
KELLER, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - What your kids can read in school libraries has become a statewide controversy.
Dozens of parents faced off on the issue during a contentious meeting in Keller on Monday night, Nov. 15.
A sexually explicit book discovered last month on a Keller ISD library database created a firestorm that came to head.
Upset parents called on the school board to immediately remove other similar material or resign.
"Lead this district, protect our children or get out of the way," one parent said to the board.
During a raucous meeting, parents brought signs and openly cheered, as well as booed, those defending and those adamantly opposed to adult-themed books available to Keller ISD students.
"Please stop the sexual grooming of our children by these books and illustrations," said one parent.
"It's my job to teach my kids about sex. It's your job to teach them about reading writing and arithmetic," said another.
State Republican leaders, including Governor Abbott, have called for an audit of all school library books and the prosecution of those school employees who allow underage students to access them.
Parents, who brought a wagon full of some school library books they call pornographic, support that idea.
"Do you wanna know what it has in it? I'm not gonna read it to you but I'll tell you sodomy, rape and drug use," said a parent.
But another group of parents called those comments homophobic and say it will censor material that fosters healthy adolescent development.
"Why are we so concerned about the books in the library when many of the same kids have access to way worse contacts on their phones and their TVs," asked another.
"I asked that you think of having raise my boys and what amounts to be at homophobic suburb I ask that you really think of the students before you start pulling books off the bookshelves that was very books allow students to identify in the LGBTQ see themselves reflected in those pages," said another parent.
The Keller ISD School Board later explained to the crowd how it gets books for its online and in house libraries.
They say the district's librarians look for age appropriate material but administrators have placed a moratorium on adult fiction until they review as many as 10 to 15-thousand books.