Skip to content

Friday, Apr. 12, 2024

Did Fort Worth ISD remove more than 100 books from schools in 2023?


yes

Fort Worth ISD pulled 120 titles from school libraries in August 2023 to review whether they are developmentally appropriate for students.

The district pulled the books before a state law requiring the removal of sexually explicit books from libraries went into effect in September 2023. Portions of the law, House Bill 900, have been on hold as federal courts consider a lawsuit.

The constitutionality of book bans is determined on a case-by-case basis. 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that schools cannot remove books because they disagree with the content. However, they can be removed based on appropriateness and curriculum. 

The 1982 decision emphasized states have broad authority on education, a topic addressed in all 50 state constitutions but not the U.S. Constitution. State legislators and school boards have final say over what schools teach.

Justice Byron White called book removal “a largely uncharted field.”

See a full discussion of this at Fort Worth Report

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

The Fort Worth Report is a 501(c)(3) organization that launched April 12, 2021. This new media outlet is built on a foundation of local leadership and local investment. It provides community-sourced journalism that exclusively supports and reports on the Fort Worth community with fact-based, thoughtful and contextual coverage without bias or predetermined agendas. The enterprise is governed by a mission statement, bylaws, and an organizational structure that ensures it remains faithful to these foundational principles.

Learn More

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.