On April 23, 2026, LION submitted ALLENISD-PIA-001 to Allen ISD Chief Communications Officer David Hicks, with a copy to the district’s general communications address. The request was filed under the Texas Public Information Act — Texas Government Code Chapter 552 — which gives any Texas resident the right to request and inspect records held by a governmental body, including a public school district.

The request sought the documentary base for the Allen ISD Proposed Library Materials Lists (April 2026) — 818 titles proposed for purchase across the district’s elementary campuses, middle schools, the Lowery Freshman Center, and Allen High School. The lists were publicly posted by the district at sites.google.com/allenisd.org/aisdproposedlibrarymaterials. These purchase lists are reviewed by the campus and district Local School Library Advisory Council (LSLAC) — a parent- and community-member body required of every Texas school district under Texas Education Code §33.025, enacted by Senate Bill 13 in the 2025 legislative session — before the slate proceeds to the Board of Trustees for approval. The April 2026 slate is referred to internally and in this campaign as List 4.

ALLENISD-PIA-001 requested four categories of records:

1. All documents, notes, emails, memoranda, or other materials showing the exact source or origin of each book title on the April 2026 proposed lists for the Elementary Campus Collections, Middle School Campus Collections, Lowery Freshman Center Campus Collection, and Allen High School Campus Collection.
2. Any professional reviews — School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and the like — vendor catalogs, publisher recommendations, database entries, or collection-development tools used by campus librarians or district staff to select or recommend each title.
3. Any internal correspondence, emails, meeting minutes, selection worksheets, or documentation reflecting how campus librarians compiled or curated the proposed lists.
4. Any external lists, curated vendor recommendations, or third-party resources that were consulted or copied from in the creation of the proposed lists.

The request asked for production in electronic format, asked that fees be waived or quoted in advance, and asked that any denial cite the specific PIA exception relied on. The production Allen ISD returned in response to ALLENISD-PIA-001 became the documentary base for every later finding in the List 4 review.