April 20, 2023
(Austin, TX) — Today, State Representative Jared Patterson’s HB 900, The READER Act, received bi-partisan support to exit the Texas House and proceed to the Senate. This legislation would protect children from sexually explicit materials, which are currently found with in schools across the state. HB 900 requires library material vendors to review the content they sell to public and open-enrollment schools and would prohibit any material deemed “sexually explicit” from entering or remaining in school and classroom libraries.
HB 900, prioritized by Speaker Dade Phelan, is unique as it mandates book ratings for book vendors, promotes parental consent to subject matter, mandates library standards established by the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the Texas State Library Archives Commission (TSLAC), and requires local review and reporting. The Texas House voted in support of this legislation with a vote of 95-52, demonstrating the necessity of this legislation over differences between party lines.
“I appreciate Representative Patterson for his great work in authoring the READER Act in the Texas House this session,” Speaker Dade Phelan said. “As both a lawmaker and parent, it’s important that we empower parents to have better visibility into what materials are available to their children in school libraries and to implement better safeguards to prevent explicit materials from being available on campuses across our state.”
“We have been told time and again that words have power and that books are some of the most powerful experiences for our children. The intent of this legislation is to ensure that the content we are providing to our youth, notably provided by taxpayer money, is the content we want to raise the next generation,” stated Rep. Patterson. “Furthermore, I want to thank all of the Texas moms for their tireless work on this issue the past eighteen months, their partnership has been crucial for the passage of the READER Act.” Jared Patterson represents House District 106, which encompasses the eastern portion of Denton County. During the 86th and 87th 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 Calendars, Licensing and Administrative Procedures, Transportation and serves as Policy Chair of the Texas House Republican Caucus Policy Committee. He also serves on the Texas Cybersecurity Council. His family resides in Frisco.
