School district trustees must adopt a library-materials policy with public review and open-meeting approval steps.
Sec. 33.026. ACQUISITION OF LIBRARY MATERIALS. (a) The board of trustees of a school district shall adopt a policy for the acquisition of library materials, including procedures for the procurement of library materials and the receipt of donated library materials. The policy must require the board to: (1) approve all library materials that have been donated to or that are to be procured by a school library in the district, with the advice and recommendations of the district's local school library advisory council if the district established a council under Section 33.025; (2) make the list of library materials not described by Subsection (f) that have been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library accessible for review by the public for at least 30 days before final approval; (3) approve or reject the list of library materials that have been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library in an open meeting; and (4) ensure compliance with the library standards approved under Section 33.021. (b) Each member of the board of trustees of a school district is entitled to: (1) review each list of library materials that have been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library in the district; and (2) propose changes to each list described by Subdivision (1) before the board votes to approve or reject the list. (c) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3), the board of trustees shall approve or reject a list of library materials that have been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library at the first open meeting of the board held on or after the 30th day after the date the list is made accessible for review by the public as required by Subsection (a)(2). (d) If a school district established a local school library advisory council, the council shall meet to determine the council's recommendations regarding library materials that have been donated to or that are proposed to be procured by a school library before the date of the open meeting of the board of trustees described by Subsection (a)(3). The local school library advisory council meeting may occur during the period the list is available for review by the public as required by Subsection (a)(2). (e) A school district may not add a donated library material to the school library catalog or otherwise make the donated library material available for student use unless the board of trustees of the district approves the addition of that donated library material to the school library catalog for the grade levels for which the material is intended. (f) This section does not apply to library materials that have been donated to or that are to be procured by a school library that: (1) replace a damaged copy of a library material with the same International Standard Book Number that is currently in the school library catalog; (2) are additional copies of a library material with the same International Standard Book Number that is currently in the school library catalog; or (3) have the same International Standard Book Number and have been approved for the same grade levels by the board of trustees of the school district from a previous proposed list of library materials. (g) The agency shall adopt and make available a model policy for the acquisition of library materials that a school district may adopt to comply with the requirements of this section. Added by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1126 (S.B. 13), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2025.