LION Sends Open Demand Letter to Allen ISD Calls for Immediate 90-Day Postponement of All Proposed 2026 Library Materials Purchases
Allen, TX – April 24, 2026
LION – Local Integrity Oversight Network has formally delivered an Open Demand Letter to the Allen ISD Board of Trustees and Local School Library Advisory Council (LSLAC).
In the letter, LION reports that it has flagged over 200 books across Elementary, Middle School, Lowery Freshman Center (9th grade), and Allen High School (10–12) proposed purchase lists. Many of these titles contain content LION identifies as harmful to minors — including depictions of forced breeding of minors, child sexual abuse and trauma, and strongly negative Christian rhetoric.
Several flagged books are extremely recent releases (some as late as March 2026) and have not yet received sufficient independent reviews, particularly from reviewer groups that support conservative parent rights and oversight.
LION’s core demand: The Allen ISD Board must immediately postpone approval and purchase of all proposed 2026 library materials lists for a minimum of 90 days. This delay is necessary to allow thorough individual review of the flagged titles and ensure full compliance with Texas Penal Code §43.24, 13 TAC §4.2, and Allen ISD Board Policy EFA/EFA-R1.
The public comment period on the proposed lists ends May 3, 2026, with the Board scheduled to vote on May 26, 2026.
Full Open Demand Letter (Posted below – updated daily with new signatures)
Call-to-Action (optional section you can add at the bottom or top):
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LION – Local Integrity Oversight Network
Open Letter to the Allen ISD Board of Trustees
Demand for Immediate Postponement of All Proposed MAY 2026 Library Materials Purchases
Submitted to:
Allen ISD Board of Trustees
Local School Library Advisory Council (LSLAC)
Allen ISD Administration and LibrariansDate: April 22, 2026
Contact: Lionwatchtx@gmail.com | (https://lionwatchtx.org/)
LION – Local Integrity Oversight Network – is a watchdog networking organization dedicated, in part, to ensuring that North Texas public school libraries serve their core educational purpose.
LION actively reviews proposed library materials in districts such as Allen ISD. LION has preliminarily flagged over 200 books from the current proposed purchase lists across Elementary, Middle School, Lowery Freshman Center (9th grade), and Allen High School (10–12) levels. These titles require individual, thorough review for compliance with state and district policy.
School Preliminary # of Titles Flagged Flag Pair # of Titles Carrying Both Flags Middle School 79 Child Abuse/Trauma + Explicit Language or Age-Inappropriate Material 48 High School 19 Child Abuse/Trauma + LGBTQ Promotion 28 Freshmen 87 Explicit Language or Age-Inappropriate Material + LGBTQ Promotion 25 Grand Total 185 Child Abuse/Trauma + DEI/Identity Politics Promotion 22 Rape/Sexual Violence + Child Abuse/Trauma 21 LION has preliminarily flagged 50 book titles for containing child abuse/trauma in the middle school list alone. This raises grave concern that requires an extended review window.
We submit this formal open letter during the mandatory 30-day public review period (ending May 3, 2026) because the proposed lists contain multiple titles that we believe violate binding provisions of Texas law, state administrative code, and Allen ISD Board Policy EFA/EFA-R1. As concrete examples, LION has identified the following three titles proposed for the Lowery Freshman Center (9th-grade) list:
- Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (released September 2, 2025)
- The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis (released March 24, 2026 — one of several titles on the list released as early as March 2026)
- Devils Like Us by L.T. Thompson (released June 3, 2025)
Violations Common to These Titles and the Broader 200+ Flagged Books
Each of these titles — and many of the 200+ others flagged yet unreviewed by LION — violates the following mandatory standards that Allen ISD is legally required to follow under 13 Texas Administrative Code §4.2 and Board Policy EFA/EFA-R1:
- Violation of Texas Penal Code §43.24 – “Harmful Material” We believe all three titles meet the three-prong test for “harmful to minors” when taken as a whole. They contain dominant themes that appeal to the prurient interest of a minor in sex, are patently offensive to prevailing adult community standards regarding suitability for minors, and lack redeeming social value for minor students. Specific content includes depictions of forced breeding of young underage girls by teen boys, prepubescent rape, systematic sexual exploitation and trafficking of underage girls, child sexual abuse, and related trauma. Allen ISD is legally prohibited from acquiring or possessing such material.
- Violation of 13 TAC §4.2(b) – Age-Appropriateness and Suitability for the Specific Campus The state mandates that collections must be “age appropriate and suitable to the campus and students it serves.” Content involving forced breeding, child rape/abuse, religious trauma, and sexual/gender exploitation is not suitable for 14- and 15-year-old students at Lowery Freshman Center.
- Violation of the Prohibition on “Pervasively Vulgar or Educationally Unsuitable” Material As expressly permitted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982), districts may — and here must — exclude pervasively vulgar or educationally unsuitable material. These titles meet that standard.
- Violation of Core Collection Goals and Negative Christian Rhetoric The books fail to enrich TEKS or foster appropriate societal standards. Two of the titles (The Danger of Small Things and Devils Like Us) employ strongly negative Christian rhetoric, portraying Christian-linked authority figures and structures as tools of oppression, forced breeding, abuse, homophobia, and transphobia.
- Violation of Parental Rights (EFA/EFA-R1) The policies recognize parents as the primary decision-makers for their own child’s access to materials. These proposals undermine that authority.
Additional Concern Regarding New Releases: Several flagged titles, including The Danger of Small Things (released March 24, 2026), are extremely recent publications. These recent titles, including The Danger of Small Things (released March 24, 2026), lack thorough content reviews from independent conservative reviewers such as Plugged In (Focus on the Family), Rated Reads, and The Literate Mother — resources that specialize in evaluating explicit sexual content, trauma themes, and worldview concerns for school-age audiences.
Despite the 30-day public review window provided by the district, the sheer volume of over 200 flagged titles — identified by LION — combined with the inclusion of several very recent releases (some as early as March 2026) makes meaningful individual review impossible within the current schedule. This undermines the spirit of the law that the Texas Legislature intended when it enacted the collection development standards under 13 Texas Administrative Code §4.2 (implementing requirements from House Bill 900, 88th Legislature, 2023). Those standards were designed to ensure thorough, community-informed evaluation of proposed library materials, including meaningful opportunities for parental and public input before final purchase decisions.”
Demand for Immediate Postponement
Because LION has identified over 200 flagged titles requiring individual review, and because some of these books were released as recently as March 2026 with inadequate independent scrutiny, the current timeline is untenable.
LION therefore demands that the Allen ISD Board of Trustees immediately postpone the adoption and purchase of all proposed 2026 library materials lists. We request a minimum postponement of at least 90 days from the current May 26, 2026 Board meeting date. This delay will allow LION, parents, and the Local School Library Advisory Council sufficient time to complete the necessary individual reviews and ensure full compliance with 13 TAC §4.2, Texas Penal Code §43.24, and Allen ISD policy.
Approving these lists without proper review would expose the district to legal and compliance risks and undermine parental rights and community trust.
LION will continue to monitor Allen ISD’s compliance and reserves the right to pursue further formal reconsideration, public comment, and oversight actions if this demand is not met.
Do the Right Thing. Tell the Truth. Be Bold.
Sincerely,
LION – Local Integrity Oversight Network
SIGN THIS LETTER: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe76Yy-4fbvLQ6Nszq1i9EGJXDtPj2TvJ5fqnR78txJWnrAag/viewform?usp=publish-editor
