What is SB13?
Senate Bill 13, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023 and effective September 1, 2025, changes how public schools handle library and classroom materials. Lawmakers framed it as a way to increase transparency for parents and add safeguards around what students read.
Key Requirements
- Library catalog access: Districts must provide parents with online access to the school’s catalog of library materials (Texas Education Agency guidance).
- Parental notification: When a student checks out or uses library materials outside the library, parents must receive a record that includes the title, author, genre, and return date (TEA guidance, same link).
- Acquisition rules: School boards must formally approve all new library acquisitions, including donations, and proposed materials must be available for public review for at least 30 days (Texas Library Association summary).
- Collection standards: The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has issued mandatory collection development standards that districts must follow, covering library materials, digital resources, and policies for classroom libraries (TSLAC standards summary PDF).
Classroom Libraries: The Gray Area
The law has caused confusion because it doesn’t explicitly say that every book on a teacher’s shelf must be entered into the district’s library catalog. Instead:
- Districts must develop policies for classroom library materials (TSLAC standards summary, same link).
- Parents must be able to know what books are available in classrooms.
- How districts comply — with a separate list, a shared database, or integration into the main catalog — is up to local decision-making.
Why It Matters
Supporters say SB13 increases parental oversight and transparency by guaranteeing parents access to library catalogs and their child’s checkout records, and by formalizing avenues for parent input on what their child may access.
Critics warn the law adds bureaucratic hurdles, sidelines librarians in favor of politically driven councils, and could chill classroom and library collections through delays and self-censorship.
The Bottom Line
SB13 requires more transparency and oversight for library materials and establishes rules for classroom books. But it does not clearly mandate that every classroom title be catalogued like a library book. Districts will have to choose how to comply — and those choices are likely to look different across Texas.
