On Tuesday, the House Committee on Public Eduction debated House Bill 900, filed by Frisco Republican Rep. Jared Patterson. His bill would ban school districts from buying books deemed "sexually explicit." It would also allow the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to adopt a set of standards for school library collections that would need to be approved by the State Board of Education.
“There is one common denominator in the books that we are addressing with this bill, and it’s sexually explicit content,” Patterson said, according to The Dallas Morning News. During the hearing, which consisted of hours of public testimony for and against HB 900, Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat from Austin, echoed the concerns of the opposition to Patterson's bill. “We’re casting a big net, and it’s going to catch a lot of classic books that we think should be in libraries,” Talarico said.
On Wednesday, a pair of bills filed by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Republican from Mineola, got hearings during a Senate Committee on State Affairs meeting. Under Senate Bill 12, businesses could be fined $10,000 for hosting sexually oriented performances, which the proposed law defines as including drag shows. Hughes’ Senate Bill 1601 would strip public libraries of state funding if they host drag story hours.
Hughes said at the hearing that children shouldn’t be exposed to sexually explicit material.
“This material can take various forms in print and visual media, as well as live performances,” Hughes said. “One particular type of sexually explicit performance has moved from adult establishments into venues that are generally accessible to the public, including children.”
He called drag shows sexually explicit and and said they expose children to issues of sexuality and identity that should be reserved for adults. He gave an example of a restaurant in Plano that hosted a drag show where a child was present and a performer offered a song with explicit lyrics. Hughes said his SB 12 isn’t limited to drag shows. “Drag shows today might be replaced by other types of harmful performances in the future, and SB 12 applies to all and will protect children from sexually oriented performances in general,” Hughes said."Drag is an art form that is as diverse as any artistic style." – Theo Adams Hernandez, public speaker
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He said Senate Bill 1601 is simple. If a municipal library hosts a drag queen story hour, it wouldn’t be able to receive state funding. Drag story hour events are hosted by people in drag who read to children and do other performances. “To be covered by the bill, a library must do the following: host an event in which a person presenting as the opposite sex reads to a minor and being dressed as the opposite sex as a primary component of the entertainment," he said.
Hughes said these bills wouldn’t affect things like theatrical performances. He gave the example of Peter Pan. In the theatrical performances of this show, Peter Pan is sometimes played by a woman. Hughes said his bills wouldn’t restrict this, for example.
Ed Fox, the director of Christian education at Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, testified in support of senate bills 12 and 1601. “This is a Christian point of view, so we don’t want it for anybody, but we definitely don’t want it for minors,” Fox said.
Several others, such as Theo Adams Hernandez, turned out to speak against Hughes' bills.
“I am a trans adult and I am testifying against Senate Bill 12. SB 12 is unconstitutional in its origin, restricting our right to freely express ourselves," Hernandez said. "Drag is an art form that is as diverse as any artistic style. Drag performers are a cornerstone of the queer community and are vital to the Texas arts economy.”
Hernandez said lawmakers should allow parents to decide if they want to take their kids to age appropriate drag performances. They said the rhetoric surrounding the bill aims to vilify the LGBTQ community. “It leads to a rise in protests, armed threats, children being terrified when Proud Boys raid drag events, and violence against the performers themselves and the venues that host them," Hernandez said. "Every Texan regardless of their identity deserves the right to express themselves free from fear or intimidation. We deserve safe spaces, and we deserve to celebrate and enjoy those artistic performances.”
That same day, Senator Brandon Creighton’s Senate Bill 8 was heard by the Senate Committee on Education. During the committee meeting, Creighton said that SB 8 would expand school choice in Texas. But he also introduced changes to the bill that could impact lessons regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill would provide $8,000 of taxpayer money annually to certain students in what’s called an Education Savings Account or ESA. This money would go toward paying for those students to attend private schools. School districts with fewer than 20,000 students would receive $10,000 for every student who leaves as part of the program for the first two years. Creighton said schools would receive more money when students leave than when they remain in the district.
Supporters said the bill would expand parental rights. But opponents worry about schools losing funding and say this would surely happen. Additionally, opponents say there’s a lot the $8,000 doesn’t cover. As a result, they say the program could be limited to higher-income families.
Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, said his research suggests programs like these don’t work, and that most people who use them have higher incomes.
“I think if it ends up becoming law, what ends up happening is all Texans, the wealthiest Texans, would be able to use this education account in order to subsidize the money they’re already paying in private schools. And $8,000 is, frankly, … maybe the average, but it’s not enough.”
During the committee meeting on Wednesday, Creighton presented senators with a supplement bill to SB 8 that added language to ban lessons about sexual orientation and gender through the 12th grade in public schools.
Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas, said in a press release after Wednesday’s hearing that the LGBTQ community is under attack this legislative session. “If kids are told that LGBTQ+ topics are taboo, they will stay in the closet longer,” Martinez said. “If teacher's can't speak to the pain and the struggle of LGBTQ+ students, how will they create safe spaces?"
House Bill 900, as well as senate bills 8, 12 and 1601, are all still pending in their respective committees.
