FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth school district board meeting turned tense Tuesday night as parents and community members sounded off on books in school and the district's decision to close libraries while they catalog books ahead of a new state law in September.
The Fort Worth Independent School District last week confirmed they were closing their libraries until Aug. 25 "so catalogs can be inventoried."
The library closures drew attention ahead of a law that goes into effect Sept. 1 that calls for any "sexually explicit" books to be removed from shelves. Any "sexually relevant" books under the law will be put through a ratings system before they are made available to students.
The library issue wasn't on the Fort Worth district's board agenda Tuesday night, but it was top of mind for plenty of speakers from the public.
"To those who label us as book banners, let me be clear, we are not for banning books. We’re for protecting children," said Kenya Alu during the open session in which community members are allowed to speak.
"Please don't let a few cynical political groups remove access [to books]," said Kristine Boyd, who opposed removing books from shelves.
Other parents raised concerns about the timing of the libraries being closed, as school began last week.
"Couldn't it have been done earlier in August?" Marsha West asked. "It sends a message that reading is not important. Open the school libraries and put children first."
The meeting turned tense when one speaker, identified as a man named Mike, called one of the books in question "Satanism." As he began reading from the book, the board questioned if what he was reading was going to be vulgar, which would be a violation of the public speaking rules.
The man kept reading from the book, so two officers stepped in and removed him from the podium. The meeting continued without incident.
While 128 libraries were closed for a full inventory, a separate process was also underway: more than 100 titles were being transferred from campus libraries for further review.
Last week, the district's Interim Library Director, Dr. Ross Teller, told WFAA that district leaders hoped to complete the review of roughly 100 books "as soon as we can."
The books under question have already been removed from shelves, according to a district spokesperson.
"We are committed to having a safe and welcoming space for all students in our libraries," Teller said. "We're just concentrating on ensuring we have the most welcoming inviting and appropriate collection available.