A group of booksellers and publishers filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block a new Texas book ratings law they say could ban such classics "Romeo and Juliet" and "Of Mice and Men" from state public school classrooms and libraries over sexual content.
The law is set to take effect Sept. 1. It would require stores to evaluate and rate books they sell or have sold to schools in the past for such content. Vendors who don’t comply would be barred from doing business with schools.
The lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutionally vague, a violation of free speech rights and an undue burden on booksellers. It seeks to block the law before it takes effect.
The law is set to take effect Sept. 1. It would require stores to evaluate and rate books they sell or have sold to schools in the past for such content. Vendors who don’t comply would be barred from doing business with schools.
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The lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutionally vague, a violation of free speech rights and an undue burden on booksellers. It seeks to block the law before it takes effect.
A book would be rated “sexually explicit” if the material is deemed offensive and not part of the required curriculum. Those books would be removed from school bookshelves.
Critics of the Texas bill predicted when it was signed into law that the new standards would mostly likely be used to target materials dealing with LGBTQ+ subject matter.
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“We all want our kids to be accepted, embraced, and able to see themselves and their families in public school curriculums and books,” said Val Benavidez, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network.
State officials would review vendors’ ratings and can request a change if they consider it incorrect. School districts and charter schools would be banned from contracting with booksellers who refuse to comply.
State Rep. Jared Patterson, one of the Republican authors of the bill, said he’s been expecting the lawsuit but believes the law will be upheld in court.
“I fully recognize the far left will do anything to maintain their ability to sexualize our children,” Patterson said.
