Conservative group aims to remove over 600 books from schools

MISSION, Texas (ValleyCentral) — School districts throughout the Rio Grande Valley received a list of 676 books that a conservative group believes should be removed.

Pastor Luis Cabrera, the director of Remnant Alliance, says this is not a book ban but rather a removal of profane material.

He says he doesn’t want children like his eleven-and nine-year-old learning about the sexually explicit material the books contain, in school.

“I gotta protect my kids and their minds, because imagine a nine-year-old, reading or seeing pornography," Cabrera said. "I mean, it destroys your mind. And I mean, that's why I told many superintendents like, we don't want to raise perverts here, we want to raise good, law-abiding citizens and I'm just in shock.”

House Bill 900, also known as the Reader Act, was passed by Texas Lawmakers and went into effect last fall. It prohibits the acquisition of harmful material and prohibits the possession, acquisition and purchasing of books rated sexually explicit material.

Jackelin Elizabeth Trevino, a local literary advocate, is against the book ban and calls it a ban against freedom of expression. She believes the group is trying to force their views into the classrooms.

“It's simply the tip of the iceberg of an agenda to further erode the separation of church and state, using our public schools as a vehicle for that," Trevino said. "Children having access to a variety of ideas and a variety of perspectives through their libraries is part of developing critical thinking and this ban makes me afraid that our youth are missing an opportunity to develop those skills.”

Trevino hopes school districts carefully evaluate the books in their libraries before removing any titles.

She believes that sexual education experts and both conservative and liberal parents should be involved in the process. Trevino says the ban will mainly have an impact on LGBTQ+ students.

Cabrera disagrees and says the goal is to protect the minds of children even if they identify as LGBTQ+.

“LGBT, I have nothing against them personally, but we try to push their agenda on my kids that's what I have a problem because I'm not trying to push my Christianity on them," Cabrera said. "That is wrong because you're not again, that's not education. That's indoctrination. They're trying to change my son and my daughter's mind to say that that lifestyle is normal, and it's not normal.”

The Brownsville School District has already removed several books. Some of the titles include “Jay’s Gay Agenda” and “The Big Question Book of Sex and Consent.”

Brownsville Independent School District Superintendent, Jesus H. Chavez says the books are being removed based on foul language and content.

“This is a controversial topic whether this book should be read or not read by our students and a lot of times you will have people on both sides of that," Chavez said. "So, we educators then have to stand in judgment and say let me look at the book, let me look at the content, language and subject.”

Chavez says they have a committee that is continuing to check the list. Cabrera says in the fall they will begin reviewing which books were removed and which have not so they can discuss the law further with the school districts.