Texas to ban sexually explicit books from school libraries

The Texas Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would ban sexually explicit books from school libraries. HB900, or the Reader Act, is sponsored by Republican Senators Jared Patterson and Angela Paxton.

The rule was approved on April 20 in the state House of Representatives by a vote of 95 in favor to 52 against. After also being ratified in the Senate, only Greg Abbott's signature remains for the bill to become a reality. The governor is expected to initial the document soon.

The bill was introduced by Frisco Senator Jared Patterson, 18 months ago. At that time, he said in a statement, he saw the need for restricting the use of sexually explicit materials in public schools and won support from a bipartisan group of state legislators for legislation that would prohibit certain books from being available in public school libraries and classrooms.

Protecting children from "sexually explicit materials," main goal of Reader Act

Republican Senator Angela Paxton, tweeted that The Reader Act will protect "children from sexually explicit materials in school libraries."

Senator Jared Patterson thanked his colleague Senator Paxton as well as his staff and Texas Senate Speaker Dade Phelan for their support in moving the bill forward: