Report: “Appeals Court Blocks Texas From Enforcing Book Rating Law”
Ed. Note: We will be updating this report with additional coverage, statements/reactions, etc. if/when they become available.
UPDATE 2: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms That Texas Book Ban Law is Unconstitutional (via AAP)
UPDATE 1: Full Text of Court Ruling (United States Court Of Appeals For The Fifth Circuit)
—End Update—
From the Dallas Morning News:
A federal appeals court halted a Texas law Wednesday that bans school library books deemed “sexually explicit,” on grounds it violates free speech rights.
The ruling from the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals was a setback for right-leaning politicians and parents who’ve spent years trying to scrub library shelves of titles they deem inappropriate — and a win for booksellers who viewed the law as coercive and unconstitutional.
The court, in a sharply worded ruling, rejected the state’s contention that requiring booksellers to rate books based on their sexual content is little different from requiring a nutrition label on food.
“We disagree,” the court ruled. The ratings required by the book ban “are neither factual nor uncontroversial…. Balancing a myriad of factors that depend on community standards is anything but the mere disclosure of factual information. And it has already proven controversial.”
Read the Complete Article
More From the The Texas Tribune
The appellate court, one of the most conservative in the nation, agreed with booksellers who sued the state, claiming the 2023 law violated their First Amendment rights. The court affirmed a district court’s temporary injunction, preventing TEA Commissioner Mike Morath from enforcing House Bill 900.
Read the Complete Article
More From the San Antonio Express-News
The ruling was on a preliminary injunction, meaning the decision goes into effect temporarily until the full case can be argued, but the court suggested the bookstores likely had a winning argument.
[ Clip]
The bill was a priority of Republican leaders in the Texas Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, who applauded it for getting “that trash out of our schools,” violated the First Amendment rights of Texas bookstores.
The bill’s author, Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), has said he was inspired to write it after seeing a graphic novel called “Gender Queer: A memoir” in a public school.
Read the Complete Article
More Reports
Background
- Lawsuit: Coalition of Local and National Booksellers, Authors and Publishers File Suit to Challenge New Censorship Law and Defend the Right of Free Expression in Texas (July 25. 2023)
- Report: US District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Barring Implementation of Texas Censorship Law
Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Libraries, News, Reports, School Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
Archives
ADVERTISEMENT