Spectrum News 1 Austin covered a “tense” Eanes Independent School District Board meeting addressing books in the district that some parents describe as pornographic. At the March 29, 2022 meeting, parents read some of the content aloud, and in order for the story to air on the news, the “disturbing” clips had to be “heavily edited,” according to the station.
Reporter Brett Shipp stated the books on the shelves at Westlake High School were “approved by school officials for student consumption … and it got worse.” He said, “I’ve heard the raw (audio) without the beeps, and this stuff was bad.” He also said school officials “vowed to address” parental concerns on the books over a year ago, “but here we are again.”
JJ Maldonado, a reporter who attended the meeting, said, “It’s just as bad as you can imagine.” He described the meeting room’s atmosphere as the books were being read as so uncomfortable people didn’t want to make eye contact. And rather than this being about “banning books,” he said parents are concerned in this case because of the explicit language and the nature of the books.
Watch the video below for the entire Spectrum News 1 Austin story on Eanes ISD books.