Texas’ Republican-backed book banning law, Senate Bill 13, is rearing its head in the San Antonio suburb of New Braunfels this month as the school district there pulled more than 1,500 titles from school library shelves.
Some of those books subjected to New Braunfels ISD’s ban include memoirs by former President Barack Obama and Texas actor Matthew McConaughey along with classic works by William Shakespeare.
Indeed, the district has either removed, restricted or “aged-up” more than 800 books from its middle schools, 600 from its high schools and some 60 from its elementary schools since SB 13 took effect in September, according to public information requests submitted by the Texas Freedom to Read Project.
New Braunfels ISD didn’t immediately respond to the Current’s request for comment on the reasoning why so many books were deemed inappropriate for its students.
Passed during the 2025 legislative session, SB 13 ordered all public school libraries to review books for “profane” or “indecent” content. It also mandates the immediate removal of books challenged by concerned parents while those materials are under review, it empowers school boards to oversee library materials.
“This overly aggressive removal of books — based on a vague law that should never have been passed in the first place — is undermining education and the freedom to read in Texas,” free-speech group PEN America’s Sy Syms Managing Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs Jonathan Friedman said in a statement.
SB 13 grabbed San Antonio-area headlines in January after Alamo Heights ISD cancelled the visit of a children’s author because three parents complained that one of his books, which wasn’t even scheduled for discussion during his visit, acknowledged the existence of the LGBTQ+ community.
Purging the classics
As part of New Braunfels ISD’s purge, administrators didn’t just targeted President Obama’s memoir, but those of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, citing “adult” content.
Meanwhile, classics including Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath were placed in district’s libraries “restricted section,” meaning they’re only available to students enrolled in AP Lit.
McConaughey, Tennessee Williams and Walt Whitman remain under review. At the same time, Shakespeare’s classics, including Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Hamlet, were deemed too risqué for middle schoolers.
New Braunfels ISD’s book-banning measures first drew media attention in November, when the San Antonio Express-News reported that the district was using an AI service called “Bookmarked” to flag reading materials that weren’t SB 13-compliant.
‘Transparent process’
The committee assigned to review the flagged books reportedly consists of a retired educator and a retired librarian.
“Frankly, it’s embarrassing for our state to be telling my children and the rest of the rising generation of 5.5 million Texas public school students they can’t read classic books, or true biographies of our country’s athletes, actors, presidents in our schools,” Texas Freedom to Read Project co-founder Laney Hawes said in a statement.
In a message to parents posted on its website last week, New Braunfels ISD confirmed that “internal review tools” and “third-party vendor resources” are being used to identify unsavory books for further review.
“Once the review is complete, each book will be designated as either SB 13 Compliant or SB 13 Non-Compliant,” the district wrote. “This transparent process ensures that our district libraries continue to provide materials that support learning while adhering to state law and community expectations.”
The district also reminded parents they will be able to appeal the removal of any book.
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