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COURT UPHOLDS BLOCK ON TEXAS LAW REQUIRING SCHOOL BOOK VENDORS TO PROVIDE SEXUAL
CONTENT RATINGS

Protesters read books in the middle of the Texas Capitol rotunda in Austin,
Texas, as The Texas Freedom Network holds a "read-in," April 19, 2023, to
protest a bill that would ban sexually explicit materials from library books in
schools. On Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, an order blocking enforcement of the Texas
law requiring vendors to evaluate and rate the sexual content of books they
sell, or have sold, to schools has been upheld by a federal appeals court.
Credit: AP/Mikala Compton

By The Associated PressUpdated January 18, 2024 3:40 pm

NEW ORLEANS — An order blocking the enforcement of a Texas law requiring vendors
to evaluate and rate the sexual content of books they sell, or have sold, to
schools has been upheld by a federal appeals court.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said opponents of the law
are likely to win their legal challenge of the law, which was aimed at keeping
material deemed “sexually explicit” off school library shelves.

Backers of the law, signed last year by Gov. Greg Abbott, have said it is
designed to protect children from inappropriate sexual material. The law’s
opponents said it could result in bans on literary classics such as “Romeo and
Juliet” and “Of Mice and Men” in schools.



Opponents also said the law places too heavy a burden on book sellers to rate
thousands of titles already sold and new ones published every year.

The law requires vendors to give all library material a rating of “sexually
explicit,” “sexually relevant” or “no rating.”

A book would be rated “sexually explicit” if the material is deemed offensive
and not part of the required curriculum. Those books would be removed from
school bookshelves.

A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit sided with book sellers who said the law
violated their First Amendment rights against compelled speech. The panel
rejected state arguments that the law merely requires factual information, like
a nutritional label on food items.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference, June 8, 2021, in Austin,
Texas. On Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, an order blocking enforcement of a Texas
law, which Abbott signed into law in 2023, requiring vendors to evaluate and
rate the sexual content of books they sell, or have sold, to schools has been
upheld by a federal appeals court. Credit: AP/Eric Gay

“The statute requires vendors to undertake contextual analyses, weighing and
balancing many factors to determine a rating for each book," Judge Don Willet
wrote for the panel. "Balancing a myriad of factors that depend on community
standards is anything but the mere disclosure of factual information.”

Wednesday's ruling upheld a lower court injunction blocking the enforcement of
the law while the challenge progresses. The panel consisted of Willet, nominated
to the court by former President Donald Trump; Judge Jacques Wiener, nominated
by former president George H.W. Bush; and Judge Dana Douglas, a nominee of
President Joe Biden.

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