Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Newsmax Tuesday that parents should be empowered to be part of their kids' education and should be able to hold school boards “accountable.”
“We need to do far better to police [education],” Fallon said during "The Chris Salcedo Show” Tuesday. “Empowering parents and holding school boards accountable is the way to solve this issue.”
Fallon said he applauded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sending a letter to the Texas Association of School Boards Monday asking them to remove books from local public-school libraries that contained “obscene” material.
“A growing number of parents of Texas students are becoming increasingly alarmed about some of the books and other content found in public school libraries that are extremely inappropriate in the public education system,” Abbott’s letter to Association Executive Director Dr. Dan Troxell said. “The most flagrant examples include clearly pornographic images and substance that have no place in the Texas public education system.”
In the letter, Abbott said that parents have the right to “shield” their children from content that they feel is “obscene” or “inappropriate,” and that the state’s school districts should not promote such material to students.
While the association has no direct authority over what materials may be in a district’s library, Abbott said the organization can address the issue collectively with its members.
“Collectively, your organization's members have an obligation to determine the extent to which such materials exist or are used in our schools and to remove any such content. You must also ensure transparency about the materials being taught in the classroom and offered in school libraries,” the letter said. “Also, each of our schools should have an appropriate and transparent process to vet library materials before they are used.
"You have an obligation to Texas parents and students to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school.”
The letter did not specifically give any titles of material that could be deemed offensive.
While not publicly responding to Abbott’s letter, an association spokesman told NPR that the body has no jurisdiction over such decisions, and no regulatory power over what districts choose for materials.
"The role of a school board primarily includes establishing a strategic plan for the district, adopting policies in public meetings, approving the district's budget, and selecting and evaluating a superintendent," the spokesperson said in an email to NPR. "In most school districts, the review and selection of individual library materials traditionally has been an administrative responsibility managed by professional district staff."
Abbott’s move comes as other GOP state lawmakers seek an investigation into the books various districts offer to students.
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