TEXAS THOUGHT POLICE DEMAND BOOK LISTS OF DISTRICTS; WHAT COMES NEXT? BOOK BURNING AT THE PUBLIC SQUARE?

By Brian Lopez

Texas Tribune

A Republican state lawmaker has launched an investigation into Texas school districts over the type of books they have, particularly if they pertain to race or sexuality or "make students feel discomfort."

State Rep. Matt Krause, in his role as chair of the House Committee on General Investigating, notified the Texas Education Agency that he is "initiating an inquiry into Texas school district content," according to an October 25 letter obtained by The Texas Tribune.

(Texas State Teachers Association President Ovidia Molina said in a statement that the investigation is a “witch hunt” and that nothing in state law gives lawmakers the right to go after educators.

“This is an obvious attack on diversity and an attempt to score political points at the expense of our children’s education,” she said.)

Krause's letter provides a 16-page list of about 850 book titles and asks the districts if they have these books, how many copies they have and how much money they spent on the books.

His list of titles includes bestsellers and award winners alike, from the 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Confessions of Nat Turner” by William Styron and "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates to last year's book club favorites: "Hood Femenism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot" by Mikki Kendall and Isabel Wilkerson's “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents."

But race is not the only thing on the committee chair’s list. 

Other listed books Krause wants school districts to account for are about teen pregnancy, abortion and homosexuality, including “LGBT Families” by Leanne K. Currie-McGhee, “The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to their Younger Selves" edited by Sarah Moon, and Michael J. Basso’s “The Underground Guide to Teenage Sexuality: An Essential Handbook for Today's Tens and Parents."

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Krause, a Fort Worth lawmaker and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, is running  for state attorney general against Ken Paxton. Krause declined to comment and no explanation was given as to how these books were chosen.

(Why, for example, did Alex Bells whimsical Polar Bear Explorers’ Club series, a series of stories about a precocious young girl who is determined to prove herself as an explorer make the list? The character, Stella Starflake Pearl knows, without a doubt, that she was born to be an adventurer. It’s too bad girls are forbidden from becoming explorers. Is it objectionable to the Thought Police because girls should know their place?)

Krause sent notice of the investigation to Lily Laux, the Texas Education Agency deputy commissioner of school programs, as well as some Texas school superintendents. His letter did not specify which school districts Krause was investigating.

Krause informs districts they must provide the committee with the number of copies they have of each book, on what part of campus those books are located and how much money schools spent on the books, as well as information on any other book that violates House Bill 3979, the so-called “critical race theory law”designed to limit how race-related subjects are taught in public schools.

Critical race theory, the idea that racism is embedded in legal systems and not limited to individuals is an academic discipline taught at the university level. But it has become a common phrase used by conservatives to include anything about race taught or discussed in public secondary schools.

The law states a teacher cannot “require or make part of a course” a series of race-related concepts, including the ideas that “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex” or that someone is “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive” based on their race or sex.

School officials have until Nov. 12 to respond. It is unclear what will happen to the districts that have such books.

The letter did not give a specific reason that Krause was launching the investigation, only that “the committee may initiate inquiries concerning any ‘matter the committee considers necessary for the information of the legislature or for the welfare and protection of state citizens.’”

To read the rest of the story, click on link: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/26/texas-school-books-race-sexuality/

Related reading on Thought Police: https://fee.org/articles/the-origins-of-the-thought-police-and-why-they-scare-us/