Judges hear arguments on Texas law that will regulate content of books distributed to public school
Federal judges weigh Texas law on public school books
A panel of judges took a hard look at a new state law that regulates the content of books distributed to public school districts. House Bill 900 seeks to rid school libraries of inappropriate books by requiring book vendors to rate materials. A legal challenge says the law is too vague and broad.
NEW ORLEANS - A panel of judges took a hard look at a new Texas law that regulates the content of books distributed to public school districts.
The law is blocked from being enforced, for now, while the courts consider whether it upholds or violates free speech protections.
The hearing in Louisiana lasted less than an hour.
House Bill 900 seeks to rid school libraries of inappropriate books by requiring book vendors to rate materials. A legal challenge says the law is too vague and broad.
Books and their content were the hot topic inside the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday.
A three-judge panel heard oral arguments in a lawsuit brought by two Texas bookstores, and others in the literature industry, that challenges the constitutionality of Texas law HB 900.
"They're required to rates books that are in active use. That is something they can't do. They don't know what is or is not in active use," said Laura Lee Prather, who is the attorney for the plaintiffs.
HB 900 requires book vendors to rate all their materials based on depictions or references to sex before selling them to 1,200 school districts statewide.
Vendors said the law is too aggressive, regulating protected speech with "vague and overly broad" terms.
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The state sees it differently.
"Prior restraint is permitted in the school context to allow the school to continue. It’s a very important function of protecting students, removing sexually explicit materials from school libraries, and preventing those materials from entering the schools to begin with," said Kateland Jackson, who is an attorney for the Texas AG’s Office.
Constitutional law attorney David Coale broke down the argument on both sides.
"One of the goals is to avoid minors coming into contact with sexually explicit material, and so that's the stated goal," he said. "The challenge to it is that this is something that we really disfavor under the First Amendment to our Constitution."
The 5th Circuit is hearing the case after a district court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs earlier this year and issued a temporary injunction barring the law from being enforced.
Maggie Stern is with the Children's Defense Fund.
Stern said they're watching this case closely as their organization has been fighting aggressively against censorship in schools and public libraries.
Part of HB 900 would require students to get parental consent to read certain books in their schools.
"We're also really concerned about the harms of a very ugly and poorly written law and the chilling effect that it's already having on school districts across the state," she said.
Coale said it will take some time for the judges to work through the constitutional arguments.
Because this is a hot-button issue, he expects a ruling by the end of the year.