Texas school district backtracks on removing Bibles to meet new law on ‘sexually explicit’ materials: ‘Wrong and likely illegal’

A Texas school district that removed the Bible over a new law banning “sexually explicit” material has backtracked — after being told it was both wrong and “likely illegal” to strip it from library shelves.

Canyon Independent School District sparked outrage earlier this month after revealing it would pull the religious text to comply with a state law banning books with “sexually explicit” materials.

But Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Denton), who sponsored the newly enacted House Bill 900, was quick to rip the district’s decision — noting that his legislation specifically protected religious texts, including the Bible.

“The Bible is the most important and most read book in history, and removing it does a grave injustice to the students in your care,” the GOP rep said in a letter fired off to Canyon ISD Superintendent Darryl Flusche.

“Let me be very clear: the Bible and other religious texts are protected under HB 900. Any assertion to the contrary is either rooted in ignorance of state law or an open hostility to the will of the people,” he wrote.

“I honestly cannot grasp how you could arrive at this decision,” Patterson continued.

“Perhaps you disagree with our fight against radically explicit content in public schools like Canyon ISD. Not only is your interpretation of HB 900 completely wrong, but your decision to ban the Bible was likely illegal.”

The district said its initial decision followed “a thorough review of its library contents to adhere to the updated state guidelines, aiming to maintain an inclusive and legally compliant educational environment.” 

But it had reassessed its decision after the state lawmaker made clear the Bible should not be included.

“After receiving clarification from Representative Patterson regarding library content, we reevaluated the guidelines and are pleased to have the Bible available in each of our Canyon ISD libraries,” the statement said.