Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath Wednesday to open an investigation into possible criminality involving the availability of pornography in the state’s public schools.
The governor said in a letter to Morath that “the presence of pornography in schools is not only inappropriate, but it is also against the law.”
VIRGINIA MOTHER WHO EXPOSED PORNOGRAPHIC BOOKS BARRED FROM HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
Pornography in schools has received substantial attention in recent weeks. A Virginia mother who exposed the presence of two pornographic books to the Fairfax County School Board in September was barred from entering her son’s school library last week, weeks after the meeting she spoke at.
One of the books, the graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, was also present in school libraries in Texas and helped prompt Abbot’s actions. The book contains graphic drawings depicting oral sex. Kobabe defended the book in a Washington Post op-ed last month, saying that claims the book contains pornography are a “common accusation against work with themes of queer sexuality.”
The directive is Abbott’s latest step in confronting pornographic content in Texas schools, which he said violates a state law that prohibits showing or providing pornographic material to minors.
“The fact that pornographic material that serves no educational purpose has been made available to students in Texas public schools is a clear violation of the law,” Abbott wrote in his letter to Morath.
Abbott said that inaction on the part of the Texas Association of School Boards prompted his letter, which came just over a week after he asked the association to “vet library materials before they are used” and stated that the organization had “an obligation to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school.”
“While the Texas Association of School Boards has refused to assist their member school boards to address this issue, the State of Texas must act for the sake of Texas students and parents,” Abbott wrote.
“That is why I am directing the Texas Education Agency to investigate any criminal activity in our public schools involving the availability of pornography,” he continued. “During this investigation, I ask the agency to refer any instance of pornography being provided to minors under the age of 18 for prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
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“We have a responsibility to ensure that no Texas child is exposed to pornography or obscene content while in a Texas public school, and your investigation will help accomplish this mission,” Abbott wrote Morath.
