Texas parents condemn overtly sexual books made available to elementary-age children

During a board meeting of the Clear Creek Independent School District this week, parents took the stand, voicing their concerns about a number of books they say are inappropriate for their children to be reading.

Leading the charge was Mark Callahan, whose child attends one of the CCISD's 45 schools. "There’s an army of parents doing a deep dive into all things literature in CCISD," he said, urging the board to do better when it comes to overseeing which books students have access to.

One particular book that has drawn ire of many is titled "Sex Is a Funny Word." According to author Cory Silverberg, the book targets 8 to 10-year-olds, and is "the first sex education book for this age group that is inclusive of lesbian, gay, and bisexual experience as well as gender creative and gender-nonconforming children."

While the book does discuss issues such as consent and unwanted touching, it also has a chapter on "Assigned sex, gender identity, and gender roles."

"Whether it’s drag queen storytime, books like the one that was exposed, or any other attempt to sexualize our kids," Callahan said, "we’re not going to stand for it."

As KHOU11 reports, the book was not available directly through the school, rather via a partner program with the local library. Following concerns raised by parents, access to the library's collection was paused.