March 10, 2023
(Austin, TX) — State Representative Jared Patterson has officially filed HB 900, designated a priority bill by the Speaker of the House. The bill is entitled the READER Act, previously filed as HB 1655, which stands for ‘Removing Explicit and Adult Designated Educational Resources’. This bill seeks to thoroughly remove sexually explicit books present in school libraries and guarantee no further material makes its way into the hands of children.
“I am grateful to work with Speaker Phelan on this significant legislation protecting Texas children from sexually explicit content.” stated Rep. Patterson. “HB 900 will pave the way to protect children from graphic content within schools. The innocence and safety of our children is paramount and I look forward to solving this problem with Speaker Phelan, all of my House colleaugues, and concerned parents across the state.”
This legislation originated from Rep. Patterson’s efforts to remove sexually graphic material found in school libraries within his district over the past 15 months. HB 900 establishes library standards for public schools, provides parental controls for library catalogs, forces book vendors to rate sexual materials, and mandates internal book reviews and reporting for each school district. The READER Act will force book vendors who sell books to school districts within Texas to rate inappropriate material as “sexually explicit” or “sexually relevant” which ensures that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is aware of all sexually inappropriate materials sold to schools. TEA will be given new authority to prohibit book vendors from selling library materials to school districts if material is incorrectly rated.
Jared Patterson represents House District 106, which encompasses the eastern portion of Denton County. During the 86th Legislative Session, Patterson authored and passed initiatives in policy areas such as transportation, education, property taxes, as well as eliminated unnecessary and burdensome government regulations. Patterson serves on the House Committees on Business & Industry, Calendars, and Homeland Security & Public Safety. He also serves on the Texas Cybersecurity Council. His family resides in Frisco.
