Stop Book Bans in Katy ISD!

The Katy ISD School Board revised the book selection & review policy, to once again allow "nudity and implied nudity" in elementary school books- which should free No David, Wacky Wednesday, The Paper Bag Princess, Draw Me A Star and Silly Bathtub Songs from book jail- and return them to school library shelves where young readers can once again fall in love with them. Thank you to all of the book loving Katy ISD parents, librarians and community members who showed up to last night's board meeting to advocate for this change. You can view the board meeting and discussion on EFA/EFB (agenda item 7.1) here. https://katyisdtx.new.swagit.com/videos/272390

We are 7 DAYS away from school starting in Katy ISD.

Katy ISD libraries still have not received their recently purchased books that were sent to “storage” by the board.

The purchase “ban” has not been lifted. Librarians are at risk of losing out on thousands of tax payer dollars that have to be spent by the end of the 22-23 fiscal year this month.

Librarians want to do their jobs and purchase BOOKS for their schools. They are not allowed to spend this money on even previously approved books. Instead they’re being told they can buy games, book marks and pencils to use the funds before their purchase deadline.

Contact the Katy ISD school board and ask them to lift the purchase ban so librarians can buy BOOKS with their remaining 22-23 funds, before the August deadline.

More details on the justification for holding hundred’s of books in “storage” here. https://twitter.com/AnneRussey/status/1688754622452699136?s=20

A couple months ago the Katy ISD school board paused library book purchases, and put all recently purchased, incoming library books into “storage” based on complaints that the recent orders contained “sexually explicit” titles.

It turns out that’s not the only content the board wants to ban.

Bizarre highlights include:
“Activist book against marine parks” (Aquanaut)
“Climate change” (Artic Code)
“Weird, awkward focus on gays” (The Poison Jungle)
“Racist generalization that Americans don’t buy Chinese food on the 4th of July” (Apple Pie 4th of July)
“Anti-parent theme” (Apple Crush)
“Lots of lesbian and BLM pictures” (Ambitious Girl)

This one complainant said their ideal resolution to their concerns would be to delay the delivery of library books. And that is exactly how the school board directed the District to respond.

Banning, and restricting books based on ideas one finds disagreeable violates student’s constitutionally protected 1st amendment rights. This has to stop.

The newly installed pro-book ban, Christian Nationalist majority, Katy ISD Board is scheduled to vote on overhauling the already recently revised, book selection and review policies (EFA & EFB) on Monday, July 31. Notable changes include giving themselves the power to veto any decision reached by a formal review committee that they disagree with, and the power to vote to remove/restrict/relocate any book 2 or more members bring forth. They also want to broadly ban all books containing "nudity or implied nudity" and "non-explicit depictions of sexual acts" from elementary schools. Tell the board what you think of their proposed changes during the public forum portion of the Monday meeting.
https://www.katyisd.org/Page/8011

Read about the PACs attempting to buy 3 seats on the Katy ISD school board, and the importance of voters turning out to Keep Katy ISD Moderate.

http://katytimes.com/stories/on-may-6-keep-katy-isd-moderate,36164

See where the candidates running for positions 3, 4 & 5 of the Katy ISD Board of Trustees stand on book bans, and other issues and concerns, in the interviews recently published by the Katy Times. Remember early voting takes place April 24-May 2. Election Day is May 6. All registered voters who live within Katy ISD boundaries are eligible to vote on all 3 at large positions. You do not have to have children enrolled in Katy ISD to vote.

Position 3
https://katytimes.com/stories/meet-the-candidates-position-3-katy-isd-board-of-trustees,34599?

Position 4
https://katytimes.com/stories/meet-the-candidates-position-4-katy-isd-board-of-trustees,34600?

Position 5
https://katytimes.com/stories/meet-the-candidates-position-5-katy-isd-board-of-trustees,34601?

30 day campaign finance reports are in, for the candidates running for Katy ISD school board. The candidates who say they want to “keep politics out of Katy ISD” & are most outspoken about their plans to continue banning books have received endorsements from conservative Republican super PACs. The Republican Party of Texas, the Harris County Republican Party, Moms for America Action, Texas Latino Conservatives, American Principles Project are all backing Mary Ellen Cuzela, Amy Thieme and Morgan Calhoun. These 3 have also hired Chris Zook, Jr., president of Texans for Educational Freedom PAC as a consultant. Remember Morgan & Amy have stated Katy ISD is wrong for their own children- but they want to manage it as trustees, presumably to make it more like a Christian private school and/or charter school since those are the types of schools they opted to send their own kids to. Don’t let book banning extremists take over our district. Fight for Katy ISD at the polls on May 6.

Last spring, Victor Perez spent months advocating for the removal of books he alleged contained "CRT," like Jerry Craft's New Kid and Class Act, prior to being elected to our school board. Now Mary Ellen Cuzela is leading a slate of PAC backed hyper-partisan candidates comprised of herself, Amy Thieme (position 3) and Morgan Calhoun (position 4). The "TCC4KATYISD" trio has been endorsed by board member Victor Perez, the Harris County GOP, Texas Latino Conservatives, Moms for America Action and the Republican Party of Texas.

So what can you do? It's time to identify candidates who are most likely to defend students' right to read, the professional integrity of educators and librarians and will uphold board policy when it comes to demands from vocal parents to impulsively restrict or remove books based on emotionally and politically charged, often untrue, allegations.

Make a plan to vote on or before May 6.

The Board of Trustees election is coming up on May 6. The deadline to register to vote is April 6. There are 3 seats up for election, and no incumbents running. There is a slate of candidates running as a well funded group on a platform they call “parents rights.” This trio is led by one of the parents who has fought the hardest to ban and restrict books in Katy ISD over the past 3 years. They have claimed the moral authority to determine which books are appropriate for all students. They are endorsed by a sitting board member who was also a vocal driver of book bans before he was elected last spring. Board elections are typically decided by less than 10% of registered voters. Make a plan to vote on or before May 6.
Frank Strong’s Book Loving Texans Guide to Voting is a great resource to learn more about the candidates and where they stand on book banning.
Find Frank’s voter guide here: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1sYWeqdcJEa10JgKPG3KSOjvJzKI-bvD_Ar34n-Iac5k/mobilebasic