School Library Programs: Standards and Guidelines for Texas

The collection development standards for school libraries are published in the Texas Administrative Code (13 Tex. Admin. Code §4.2), available online through the Secretary of State’s website.

In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 900 (88th R.S.), also known as the READER Act. This legislation required TSLAC to adopt standards, approved by a majority vote of the State Board of Education, for school library collection development that a school district shall adhere to in developing or implementing the district’s library collection development policies.

TSLAC drafted the collection development standards in collaboration with members of the State Board of Education and staff from the Texas Education Agency and with input from educators, librarians, and parents. In addition to public testimony at various commission meetings, public feedback was solicited during the period of public comment for the proposed rule. The State Board of Education and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission approved the new standards in December 2023, and they became effective January 3, 2024.

In 2025, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 13 (89th R.S.), which imposed additional legal requirements for districts regarding library acquisition and collection development. The legislation also required TSLAC to update its standards, again in collaboration with the State Board of Education. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission approved revisions to the standards in February 2026, and they became effective March 10, 2026.

TSLAC recommends that district library administrators review their current collection development policy as soon as practicable to determine compliance with new state requirements.

While the standards do not specify a target date for districts to complete their policy review and revision, Senate Bill 13 (89th R.S.) requires districts to adopt a policy for the acquisition of library materials “[b]efore the first day of the 2025–2026 school year.” We have updated a checklist to assist in this process.

TSLAC has developed a detailed guide to assist districts in developing their own policies to comply with the collection development standards. This guide provides additional detail and offers suggestions for districts to consider while they complete this work. Additionally, TSLAC provides an optional checklist for districts that includes the mandatory items a policy must include for compliance with the standards. The checklist is not a substitute for carefully reading and applying the collection development standards.

Yes. As specified in Section 33.021, Education Code, the mandatory standards require a school library collection development policy to “be required for all library material available for use or display, including material contained in school libraries, classroom libraries, online catalogs, library mobile applications, and any other library catalog a student may access.” Should teachers wish to develop classroom libraries, it is the responsibility of the district to ensure compliance with the district’s school library collection development policy.

The standards require a district-approved process for the “evaluation, selection, acquisition, reconsideration, and deselection” of classroom library materials. As classroom libraries are administered by classroom faculty and not school librarians, however, it is up to the district to adapt and/or enforce collection development policy requirements or other locally approved policies for classroom libraries that ensure compliance with all state requirements. A district’s policy for classroom libraries may be different from the school library policy, but it must adhere to the requirements noted above.

The school library catalog is a system managing the catalogued contents of the school library that may be checked out by the school community. Classroom libraries are outside the scope of the school library holdings as, fundamentally, classroom library materials are intended only for the students of that classroom. Therefore, the rules do not require that classroom library materials be added to the school library online catalog. District administrators may determine if they wish to provide a separate means for publication of the items in the district’s classroom libraries or require inclusion in the school library catalog.

The collection development standards do not exempt library materials that are donated or purchased with personal funds.

Materials not found in or added to a school district’s library catalog do not meet the definition of “library materials” provided in Section 33.020, Education Code. Districts may develop guidelines or other standards for accepting and distributing these materials.

As specified in HB 900, the mandatory standards require that a school library collection development policy must:

• Recognize that parents are the primary decision-makers regarding their student’s access to library material;
• Ensure schools provide library catalog transparency, including but not limited to:
  • Online catalogs that are publicly available; and
  • Information about titles and how and where materials can be accessed;
• Recommend schools communicate effectively with parents regarding collection development, including, but not limited to:
  • Access to district/campus policies relating to school libraries;
  • Consistent access to library resources; and
  • Opportunities for students, parents, educators, and community members to provide feedback on library materials and services.

Furthermore, when evaluating materials for inclusion in a school library, a district may consider recommendations from parents, guardians, and local community members.

Finally, the standards require that a district’s reconsideration process should ensure that any parent or person standing in parental relation to a student enrolled in the school district, a person employed by the school district, or a person residing in the district may request the reconsideration of a specific item in their school district’s library catalog.

In addition to these standards, Sections 33.023 and 33.024, Education Code, require additional action required by districts regarding parental involvement, including notifying parents of a child’s library checkouts and developing a procedure to allow a parent to submit to the district a list of library materials that the parent’s child may not be allowed to check out or otherwise access for use outside of the school library. Districts should review these and other legal requirements in Chapter 33, Education Code, to ensure policies and procedures are in compliance.

Neither the standards nor provisions enacted in SB 13 require that parents complete a form before their child may check out library material. However, a district or open-enrollment charter school must adopt procedures that allow parents to submit to the district a list of library materials that the parent’s child may not be allowed to check out or otherwise access outside of the school library, as required by Section 33.023, Education Code. Districts must allow parents to submit these opt-out selections using an electronic or physical form or through the district’s or school’s online library catalog system.

Section 33.024, Education Code, states that “each school district and open-enrollment charter school that uses a learning management system or an online learning portal shall, through the system or portal, provide to each parent of a child enrolled in the district or school a record of each time the parent’s child checks out or otherwise uses outside the school library a library material. The record must include, as applicable, the title, author, genre, and return date of the library material.”

Where possible, a district should ensure that a professional librarian certified by the State Board for Educator Certification (“certified school librarian”) is responsible for selecting and acquiring library materials. If a district does not employ a certified school librarian, or if a certified school librarian is unavailable to carry out these responsibilities, a district should designate another professional library staff member who is trained on proper collection development standards to complete this work.

A district’s school library collection development policy must designate responsibility for collection development and establish procedures for the evaluation, selection, acquisition, reconsideration, and deselection of materials. District staff should follow these designations and procedures as determined by their district.

Should a district establish a local school library council (SLAC), the district’s board of trustees may appoint classroom teachers and librarians employed by the district as nonvoting members.