A school district in Texas has scrambled to explain to parents why officials temporarily removed the Bible from school library shelves over concerns about its supposedly “sexually explicit” content.
This month, Superintendent Darryl Flusche apparently confirmed in an email to the Christian Post that Canyon Independent School District, which includes the south side of Amarillo, had removed “the full text of the Bible” from district libraries in an effort to comply with HB 900, a law designed to keep inappropriate sexual content out of Texas classrooms.
“Standard for library content prohibits books that have one instance of sexual content,” Flusche wrote to the Christian Post, according to a screenshot shared by the Texan. “… Therefore, HB900 doesn’t allow numerous books, including the full text of the Bible, to be available in the school library.”
In the alleged email, Flusche noted that excerpts from the Bible were still available at the libraries and that the district maintained “strong connections with local churches,” all of which would be willing to furnish a copy of the entire Bible to interested students.
He advised parents who dislike the Bible ban to reach out to their state lawmakers and ask them to reconsider HB 900.
‘It seems absurd to me that the Good Book was thrown out with the bad books.’
Parents, however, did not respond as he’d hoped. When word about the Bible ban spread, both parents and lawmakers slammed the district for the ridiculous interpretation of HB 900, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed into law a year ago.
HB 900 prohibits any classroom material that “describes, depicts, or portrays sexual conduct” in a manner that is “patently offensive” except in cases of material “directly related to” required curricula.
Canyon ISD mom Regina Kiehne told the Texas Scorecard: “The Bible holds great value. It should be valued in our Texas school system.”
“It seems absurd to me that the Good Book was thrown out with the bad books,” Kiehne recalled telling school officials, according to the outlet.
Jamie Haynes — whom the Texas Scored described as a “conservative activist” living in the Texas Panhandle — was likewise outraged by the ban. “HB 900 was never intended to remove the Bible from Texas public schools,” Haynes said. “Whether this decision was made maliciously, with erroneous counsel, or simply with lack of common sense, the Holy Bible, upon which this nation was founded, needs to be immediately returned to Canyon ISD libraries.”
State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Denton) also took action, sending Flusche a letter that warned that the district may be breaking the law with its policy.
“Let me be very clear: the Bible and other religious texts are protected under HB 900. Any assertion to the contrary is either rooted in ignorance of state law or an open hostility to the will of the people,” Patterson wrote.
“I honestly cannot grasp how you could arrive at this decision,” Patterson continued, noting that the Bible “is the most important and most read book in history.”
“Perhaps you disagree with our fight against radically explicit content in public schools like Canyon ISD. Not only is your interpretation of HB 900 completely wrong, but your decision to ban the Bible was likely illegal.”
In response to the pressure campaign, the district initially held its ground, claiming that “recent reports” about the ban didn’t “tell the whole story” and reiterating that biblical stories were still available in schools.
However, according to the Amarillo Globe-News, just 24 hours later, the district issued yet another statement, announcing that the ban had been officially rescinded and the Bible restored to its school libraries.
“The initial removal of the Bible was undertaken to align with House Bill 900, which mandates stricter oversight of educational materials to ensure they meet Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards,” the statement said. “Canyon ISD conducted a thorough review of its library contents to adhere to the updated state guidelines, aiming to maintain an inclusive and legally compliant educational environment.”
“After receiving clarification from Representative Patterson regarding library content, we re-evaluated the guidelines and are pleased to have the Bible available in each of our Canyon ISD libraries,” the statement continued, according to the New York Post.
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