On April 28, 2026, LION delivered a formal compliance letter to Wylie ISD Superintendent Dr. Kim Spicer. The letter — titled “Request for Review and Removal of Song of Solomon from Wylie ISD Curriculum – Compliance Concern” — was transmitted by email to kim.spicer@wylieisd.net and addressed three documented concerns about the January 13, 2026 Literature Review Committee approval of Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon.

The letter requested a written response by May 19, 2026. The full letter is on file with the other primary-source documents from the Wylie ISD engagement.

The compliance concerns referenced the four-month interval between the September 1, 2025 effective date of Texas Senate Bill 412 — which repealed the educator affirmative defense formerly available under Texas Penal Code §43.24 — and the January 13, 2026 LRC approval. The letter is the first item in the documented superintendent-channel correspondence that ran from April 28 through May 19, 2026.

Source: LION compliance letter to Wylie ISD Superintendent Dr. Kim Spicer, April 28, 2026.

Errors or corrections: corrections@lionwatchtx.org

On April 20, 2026, Wylie ISD produced its response to WYLIEISD-PIA-001 — LION’s April 7 Public Information Act request on AP English Literature reading lists and Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. The production arrived one business day before the Texas Government Code §552.221 statutory deadline.

The production, signed off by Ian M. Halperin, Executive Director of Community Relations & Marketing, contained 23 PDF documents totaling 553 pages. The records include: the Wylie ISD AP Literature Request and Justification form for Song of Solomon, signed January 13, 2026 by Steven Parker (Requestor) and Sharyn Vernon (Campus Literature Review Committee Member); the Song of Solomon reading schedule, three novel quizzes (Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3), and final-project assignments for two Wylie East AP Literature classes (including the Parker “Dead Family Odyssey” final project); a parent-notification slide for the Vernon class; AP Literature syllabi for teachers Parker and Vernon; AP Literature course authorizations for three teachers (Parker, Vernon, and Narvaez); term-level AP Literature curriculum maps; and the 2025–26 TEA Certification of Provision of Instructional Materials.

The Vernon AP Literature syllabus lists Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Sula as excerpts in the Nobel Laureates instructional unit.

Source: WYLIEISD-PIA-001 production, April 20, 2026, signed by Ian M. Halperin; 23 PDFs as listed above.

Errors or corrections: corrections@lionwatchtx.org

On April 7, 2026, LION filed its first Public Information Act request with Wylie Independent School District. The Texas Public Information Act (Chapter 552, Government Code) is the state law that gives the public a right to records held by governmental bodies. The request — designated WYLIEISD-PIA-001 — was transmitted to the district’s designated open-records inbox at OpenRecords@wylieisd.net, addressed to Ian M. Halperin, Executive Director of Community Relations & Marketing, who functions as the district’s Public Information Officer.

The request sought four categories of records: (1) current and recent AP English Literature syllabi and reading lists for Wylie High School and Wylie East High School (2025–26 and 26–27); (2) whether Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon is currently assigned, required, recommended, optional, or supplemental in any AP English Literature course; (3) whether Song of Solomon has ever been required or assigned in any AP English course from 2020 to the present, including past reading lists, curriculum approvals, and board documents; and (4) any board agendas, minutes, or resolutions referencing AP English Literature instructional-materials selection.

The district’s statutory deadline to respond, set by Texas Government Code §552.221, was April 21, 2026.

Sources: WYLIEISD-PIA-001 request transmittal, April 7, 2026; Texas Public Information Act, Chapter 552, Government Code.

Errors or corrections: corrections@lionwatchtx.org

On January 20, 2026 — seven days after the Wylie Independent School District Literature Review Committee approved Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon for required AP English Literature reading — Wylie ISD adopted an updated version of its local instructional-resources policy, Board Policy EFA(LOCAL).

EFA(LOCAL) governs the selection, approval, and reconsideration of instructional materials — including supplemental literary texts and Literature Review Committee approvals. The face of the produced EFA(LOCAL) policy document carries the footer notation “Adopted: 1/20/2026” and identifies the update as TASB Update 126.

Under the policy, the Wylie ISD Board of Trustees delegates initial selection of instructional materials to district professional staff but retains ultimate authority over instructional materials. The seven-day gap between the LRC approval and the policy update is a documented timeline. The district has not stated on the public record whether the policy update was related to the Song of Solomon approval.

Sources: Wylie ISD Board Policy EFA(LOCAL), TASB Update 126, adopted January 20, 2026 (WYLIEISD-PIA-003 production); Wylie ISD AP Literature Request and Justification form for Song of Solomon, signed January 13, 2026 (WYLIEISD-PIA-001 production).

Errors or corrections: corrections@lionwatchtx.org

On January 13, 2026, the Wylie Independent School District Literature Review Committee approved Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon for use as required reading in AP English Literature and Composition at Wylie East High School. Wylie ISD serves approximately 19,000 students in Collin, Dallas, and Rockwall Counties.

The Literature Review Committee (LRC) is the district body that reviews and approves supplemental literary texts for classroom use under Wylie ISD Board Policy EFA(LOCAL). Under the district’s own LRC Guidelines, the committee operates with a 75% quorum and a 2/3 vote requirement.

The approval is documented on the district’s own AP Literature Request and Justification form for Song of Solomon, signed January 13, 2026 by Steven Parker (Requestor, Wylie East AP Literature teacher) and Sharyn Vernon (Campus LRC Member). The form records the date and the outcome — “Approved for: Whole Group” — but does not record a vote tally or attendance roster.

The approval occurred approximately four months after Texas Senate Bill 412 took effect on September 1, 2025, repealing the educator affirmative defense formerly available under Texas Penal Code §43.24.

Sources: Wylie ISD AP Literature Request and Justification form for Song of Solomon (WYLIEISD-PIA-001 production); Wylie ISD Literature Review Committee Guidelines (WYLIEISD-PIA-003 production).

Errors or corrections: corrections@lionwatchtx.org