Katy ISD parents want book audit of district's libraries after claiming they found 'porn'
KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- One by one, half a dozen mothers and grandmothers stood before the Katy ISD school board Monday night reading sexually explicit passages aloud.
One woman announced she had never used the 'F word' until her presentation.
"It is straight up porn," said Claudia Turcott, after addressing the school board.
The material, too graphic for ABC13 to broadcast or publish, is available in Katy ISD high school libraries, according to the parents.
"I knew the dangers of raising kids in a digital world and all the sexual and pornographic content, but finding out the content of the books in my kids' schools has been a big slap in the face," said Jennifer Adler, another Katy ISD mother.
Turcott worries the sexually explicit material does not reflect healthy relationships and could misguide teens who read about these often fictional sexual encounters.
"I've always told my kids, 'You've got a question about sex? I'm going to tell you the truth and I'm going to give you accurate information. Don't ask your buddy, don't go looking for stuff. I will always level with you and be straight with you.' Not every kid has that, and in fact, I would guess that most kids don't have that. And it's really important for us to be protectors of the kids that don't have that," she said.
The group pointed to six books, Me, Earl and the Dying Girl, Forever for a Year, Jack of Hearts (and other parts), All Boys Aren't Blue, The Breakaways and The Nerdy and the Dirty, but say they want broader action taken by Katy ISD to remove inappropriate material in the library.
"We need an audit of the library for pornographic and sexual content and then a committee put in place for better filtering of books that get into our schools," said Adler.
Just last week, neighboring Waller ISD announced they would review their libraries for sexually graphic material after a similar school board meeting.
Katy ISD's school board could not address the parent concerns Monday, but we're told the district will have a response following this public outcry.
