Texas SBOE Member Questions Control Over Required Reading List

A Republican Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) member, Pam Little, has raised concerns over the power dynamics between the Texas education commissioner, the Legislature, and the SBOE in creating the state's first required book reading list. In an email posted on social media by the nonprofit Texas Freedom to Read Project, Little voiced frustration over the diminished role the board has in writing the list of books that all public school students will soon be mandated to read. "Even though the SBOE is tasked with this list in reality it is the Commissioner who controls it," Little wrote. The 15-member partisan SBOE oversees what students learn in school, approves new charter schools, and establishes graduation requirements. The Legislature approved the creation of a public school reading list in 2023 and tasked the SBOE with making it. However, the board relied on Texas Education Agency staff to draft the initial required book list, which Little argues was essentially a draft made by the education commissioner. Little also suggested that there were threats that if the SBOE did not follow the Legislature's instructions, the Legislature would disband the SBOE. In an interview, Little said she doesn't believe there is a real threat of the Texas Legislature dismantling the SBOE, but she felt the SBOE should have a greater hand in its duties that are mandated by the Legislature, such as creating the reading list. "If we're just going to have to do what we're told then why do you have us?" Little said.