Agency Leading School Porn Probe
Approved Books Targeted in Texas

Capitol Inside
November 12, 2021

Governor Greg Abbott could have the fox guarding the hen house with the ostensible discovery this week of obscene materials in a school district near Houston where all of the books that are being removed now were approved by the Texas Education Agency.

The TEA - ironically - is the same state agency that the Republican governor tapped this week for a criminal investigation into the sudden emergence of pornography in the Texas public schools. But Abbott faces a tricky decision in the wake of revelations about TEA-sanctioned literature with "sexually explicit passages" that a few parents exposed at a Waller school board meeting early this week.

Will Abbott decide that an independent counsel might be necessary for the criminal school porn probe now that the TEA has been implicated as a potential suspect? Could the governor turn to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or the Department of Public Safety - possibly even the Texas Rangers - to carry out the criminal inquiry now that trail appears to be leading right back to the Texas Education Agency as the possible perpetrator?

The dilemma is especially delicate in light of the fact that Abbott oversees the TEA. Should the governor recuse himself from the porn crime hunt and turn it over to Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick as a result of Abbott's apparent conflict?

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan also must decide if he have the General Investigating Committee initiate an investigation into possible pornography pirates in the state agency that Abbott has tapped for the criminal probe into public school porn. The Republican speaker has allowed the panel's chairman - GOP State Rep. Matt Krause of Fort Worth - to conduct a solo investigation into schoolhouse porn that Abbott has appeared to be trying to mimic and one up.

Abbott also faces the threat of the Federal Bureau of Investigation entering the picture now that crimes have been alleged and the state has been compromised with the flushing out of alleged pornography in books at Waller High School that had been approved by the TEA.

Waller school superintendent Kevin Moran revealed the crisis in a letter on Wednesday to families in the district on the outer edge of the Houston area.

"During Monday night’s regular School Board meeting, a parent came to address the Board and administration regarding concerns about sexually explicit passages found in certain books at Waller High School," Moran wrote. "As district leaders with knowledge of our procurement process for state-approved reading materials including our own district standards, and as parents ourselves, we were shocked and appalled to learn that such content was found in books in our school and immediately began taking aggressive action.

First, we confirmed that the books in question in our classroom and school libraries were acquired through our standard process of selecting materials," Moran added. "We have found all these to be approved by the Texas Education Agency, however, just because they are approved does not mean we are finished. Waller ISD (WISD) has always held a high standard to providing a well-rounded, balanced education for all of our students that upholds high moral and ethical values. We have determined that more intense reviews must occur to ensure materials meet the standards of the WISD family."

Moran said the books that had been singled out had been taken off the high school library shelves and transferred to the principal's office.

"Second, we have begun a formal review of the books in question as well as expanded our review to include others that have been brought to our attention. This includes a review of our selection criteria in general. While we do not condone censorship, we do believe that books should be placed in school libraries appropriate to the ages and maturities of the children served," Moran said.   

The Waller school chief said that students could check out the books in question as long as they have written permission from parents or guardians.

more to come ...