On June 11, 2026, LION delivered an open letter to Whitewright ISD Superintendent Brian Garner and the Whitewright ISD Board of Trustees regarding eleven titles in the Whitewright High School library catalog. The letter is addressed jointly to Superintendent Garner and each member of the Board.

The eleven titles were identified by cross-referencing the Whitewright High School catalog — produced by Whitewright ISD on April 15, 2026 in response to WWISD-PIA-001 — against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Mail System Coordinators Panel Denied Books List dated April 8, 2025. The MSCP is the centralized TDCJ authority that reviews publications for inmate acceptance or denial under TDCJ Policy BP-03.91 §IV.E.1.d, which authorizes rejection where “a specific determination has been made that the publication contains graphic presentations of sexual behavior that is in violation of the law, such as rape, incest, sex with a minor, bestiality, or necrophilia.”

Thirteen titles in the Whitewright High School catalog appear on the TDCJ Denied Books List. Eleven of those titles are denied by TDCJ for sexually explicit content — depictions of rape, sexual assault of minors, sex with minors, incest, and indecency with a child. TDCJ’s denial record cites the specific page and passage in each book that triggered the denial:

1. Sold by Patricia McCormick — pgs. 102, 103, 120 & 121: sex with a minor.
2. Crank by Ellen Hopkins — pg. 341: graphic depiction of rape.
3. The Color Purple by Alice Walker — pgs. 11 & 12, and pgs. 1 & 2: indecency with a child.
4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold — pg. 15: sexual assault of a minor (age 13); pg. 14: rape of a minor.
5. Four Past Midnight by Stephen King — pgs. 547 & 548, 690 & 691: rape.
6. Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult — pg. 17: indecency with a child.
7. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson — pgs. 8 & 20: sexually explicit images; pgs. 177 & 178, 242–244, 272–275, 282, 318–319: rape.
8. The Kiss by Kathryn Harrison — pg. 128: incest (father / daughter).
9. The Last Juror by John Grisham — pgs. 17 & 18, 19 & 20, 24, 25 & 26: rape.
10. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño — pg. 15: sex with a minor.
11. World Without End by Ken Follett — pgs. 408, 414, 497, 498, 887, 898, 1085: rape.

Senate Bill 13, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2025, amended Chapter 33 of the Texas Education Code. Section 33.020(2) defines “indecent content” as “content that portrays sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently offensive.” Section 33.021(d)(2)(A)(iv) requires that each school district’s library collection development policy prohibit the possession, acquisition, and purchase of library material containing indecent content. Section 33.025(a) makes the §33.021 collection standard binding on every district, whether or not the district has established a Local School Library Advisory Council.

The letter demands that Whitewright Independent School District remove all eleven titles listed above from the Whitewright High School library catalog within fourteen calendar days; provide written confirmation of removal, naming each title and the date of removal, on or before June 25, 2026; and identify in that response the acquisition controls the district has implemented under §33.021(d)(2)(A) to prevent future possession or purchase of material prohibited under that subsection.

The full letter (PDF) is on file. The district’s written response — or absence of one — will be published here following June 25, 2026.

Errors or corrections: corrections@lionwatchtx.org

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice — the agency that runs Texas state prisons — maintains a public list of books and other publications it has refused to allow inside its facilities. Each entry cites the specific page or pages and the specific content that triggered the denial: a photograph, a rape scene, a depiction of a minor, a sexually explicit image. TDCJ calls it the Denied Books List.

On May 11, 2026, LION cross-referenced the Whitewright High School library inventory provided by the district against the TDCJ list.

Fourteen books on Whitewright HS shelves appear on the TDCJ list. Thirteen of those fourteen were denied for sexual content — depictions of rape, child sexual abuse, incest, or sexually explicit imagery. The fourteenth was excluded from this report because the TDCJ denial reason was specific to fighting techniques, a concern specific to incarcerated adults. The thirteen titles, alphabetical, with TDCJ’s stated reason for denial:

• Cinema: Year by Year, 1894–2004 (reference) — Page 95 contains a sexually explicit image.
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker — Pages 11 & 12 depict incest (stepfather/stepdaughter).
• Crank by Ellen Hopkins — Page 341 contains a graphic depiction of rape.
• Four Past Midnight by Stephen King — Pages 547 & 548 depict the rape of a minor.
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson — Page 67 contains a sexually explicit image; pages 113–117 depict rape.
• The Kiss by Kathryn Harrison — Page 128 contains incest (father/daughter).
• The Last Juror by John Grisham — Pages 24, 25, and 26 depict rape. Whitewright HS holds two copies.
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold — Page 15 depicts sexual assault of a minor (age 13).
• The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal (reference) — Pages 102 and 232 contain sexually explicit images. Title-only match — see verification note below.
• Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult — Page 17 depicts indecency with a child.
• The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño — Page 15 depicts sex with a minor (age established on page 3).
• Sold by Patricia McCormick — Pages 102, 103, 120, and 121 depict sex with a minor (age 13).
• World Without End by Ken Follett — Pages 497, 498, and 1085 contain graphic depictions of rape.

Twelve of the thirteen entries above match the TDCJ list on both title and author. The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal matched on title only; the Whitewright catalog provided to LION does not include ISBNs, and at least two editions of that reference work exist with different pagination. LION cannot independently confirm the edition on the Whitewright shelf is the same edition TDCJ flagged. The title remains on the list for transparency.

Whitewright Independent School District is a small public school district serving approximately 793 students across three campuses in Grayson County, with portions of the district extending into Fannin and Collin Counties.

On April 15, 2026, Whitewright ISD provided LION with two records under the Texas Public Information Act:

• Whitewright High School Library Inventory — the complete catalog of titles held in the high school library.
• Whitewright High School Classroom Reading List — supplemental reading materials used in classroom instruction.

The district’s Administrative Secretary, Adriane Howard, fielded the request and produced both records within six business days — inside the ten-business-day response window required by Texas Government Code §552.221.