Library catalogs (Destiny) can be accessed through the Online Libraries link found on the Library Services webpage. Select the appropriate campus to view materials in the library.

Parents are encouraged to communicate with the campus librarian and their child’s teacher regarding self-selected reading material. Parents may select alternative library materials for their student. Parents can complete the Library Access Form if they wish to restrict a list of titles for their student. A parent’s ability to restrict access to library materials extends only to their child. (Education Code Chapter 26)

Conroe ISD Librarians are professionally trained and certified by the state of Texas in selecting materials for school libraries. Librarians purchase items in accordance with the Conroe ISD Board Policy EFB (LOCAL).

When the District or a campus receives an objection to the appropriateness of a library material, the appropriate librarian or administrator shall try to resolve the matter informally. The librarian or administrator shall explain the selection process and discuss the intended purpose for the library material. If appropriate, the librarian or administrator may reevaluate the library material to determine if it meets the current selection criteria and offer a concerned parent an alternative library material to be used by that parent’s child in place of the library material in question.

If the complainant wishes to make a formal challenge, the administrator shall provide the complainant a copy of the Board Policy EFB (LOCAL) and the form to request a formal reconsideration of the library material.

A parent of a District student, a student who is 18 years of age or older, an individual employee, or any District resident may challenge a library material maintained in the District’s library program on the basis that the library material fails to meet the standards set forth in this policy.

As outlined in Board Policy EFB (LOCAL):

1. The complainant completes the Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Resources form provided by the District and submits it to library@conroeisd.net
2. District Library Specialist appoints a reconsideration committee consisting of a librarian, and at least one instructional staff member who has experience using the challenged material with students or is familiar with the challenged material’s content. Other members of the committee may include District-level staff, secondary-level students, parents, and any other appropriate individuals.
3. All members receive a copy of the challenged title and review the material in its entirety. As soon as reasonably possible, the committee will meet and determine an outcome. The review process should take no more than 45 school days. However, the committee may take additional time, if necessary, to complete the review and submit their decision. The committee will prepare a written report of its findings to be shared with the Superintendent, the Complainant, and other appropriate administrators.
4. Library materials reviewed within a three-year period will not be considered again during that period.

Yes. The complainant may appeal the decision of the reconsideration committee in accordance with appropriate complaint policies (DGBA, FNG, and GF), starting at the appropriate level.

If you wish to join a challenge committee, please complete the Book Committee Volunteer Form. If you have any question, please contact Melody Hiser, District Library Media Specialist. The committee agreement involves a considerable amount of time to read and review the title.

Book Committee Volunteer Form

The school district may not remove materials from a library for the purpose of denying students access to ideas with which the District disagrees.

According to the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1982 decision, the First Amendment rights of students may be “directly and sharply” implicated by the removal of books from the shelves of a school library. Bd. of Educ., Island Trees Union Free Sch. Dist. No. 26 v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982).

The Supreme Court, in that case, stated there is a meaningful difference between the curriculum conveyed in a compulsory setting and the school library, which is a place for “voluntary inquiry.” The Supreme Court made clear that state and local discretion may not be exercised in a way that violates students’ free speech rights by removing books for partisan or political reasons: “In brief, we hold that local school boards may not remove books from school library shelves simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to ‘prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion.’” Pico, 457 U.S. at 872.

In Board of Education v. Pico, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that a school board’s decision to remove books from the school library based simply on their content violates the First Amendment’s free speech right. The Court says the First Amendment protects the right to receive information and ideas. The justices allow that books that are “pervasively vulgar” or educationally unsuitable can be removed. Annenberg Classroom.