The Library Police Came From Austin

Dan Patrick talks about local control like it is sacred — right up until a local school library has a book he wants Austin to police.

Senate Bill 13 is officially captioned as a bill "relating to a school district's library materials and catalog, the establishment of local school library advisory councils, and parental rights regarding public school library catalogs and access by the parent's child to library materials." It is effective September 1, 2025.

That is the polite legislative version. The plain-English version is simpler: Austin decided your local school library needed another layer of state-approved supervision.

Local schools, state leash

Parents already had ways to talk to teachers, principals, librarians, and school boards. Local communities already had elected trustees. If a district made a bad call, voters could show up and change the people making those calls.

SB 13 adds a new political machine around library catalogs and advisory councils. It turns a local education question into another statewide culture-war dashboard.

That is not less government. That is government with a longer reach and a better slogan.

The bait-and-switch

Calling every new state mandate "parental rights" does not make it local. A parent in Denton, Lubbock, Snyder, or rural Texas should not need Austin politicians using their kid's school library as a campaign prop.

If Dan Patrick trusted parents and local schools, he would trust them to solve local problems locally. Instead, his Senate pushed a bill that moves another decision point closer to the Capitol.

Texas can do better

Texas needs leaders who fund public schools, respect parents, and stop treating classrooms and libraries like campaign stages.

Vikki Goodwin is running for Lieutenant Governor with a public-school-first message. If you are tired of Austin politicians selling local control while grabbing more control, there is your contrast.