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In the latest salvo in Texas Republicans鈥� fight against what they portray as indoctrination and obscenity in schools, several Republican state representatives are asking Texas school district officials to pledge not to buy books from vendors that have supplied schools with what the lawmakers deem pornography.

State Rep. , R-Frisco, sent a letter on Wednesday to school districts asking school officials to sign the pledge. In his letter, Patterson said children across Texas have been exposed to material such as 鈥淕ender Queer: A Memoir,鈥� a graphic novel that has both nationwide and in Texas among some parents and Republican officials.

The book, by Maia Kobabe, depicts the author鈥檚 experiences growing up and struggling to identify as gay, bisexual or asexual. It contains a few pages of explicit illustrations depicting oral sex, which have outraged some parents and state leaders.

The nonbinary author, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, told The Texas Tribune last year that students need 鈥済ood, accurate, safe information about these topics鈥� instead of 鈥渨ildly having to search online鈥� and potentially stumble across misinformation.

But some Republicans, including Gov. , have called the book 鈥減ornographic.鈥� Patterson repeated that depiction in his letter.

鈥淏oth local districts and the Legislature will be working diligently on policies to prevent such books from being allowed on campus in the future,鈥� Patterson wrote. 鈥淗owever, we also acknowledge school districts have a lot [of] power in the market when purchasing books and that if we stand together against explicit materials for children, book vendors will be forced to adjust.鈥�

The letter was signed by an additional 26 Republican lawmakers, including state Rep. R-Fort Worth, who initially compiled a list of some that he asking for information about how many are available on their campuses.

鈥淩espectfully, I ask you to take this pledge on behalf of every Texas child in public schools who doesn’t deserve to be exposed to obscene materials,鈥� Patterson said.

Abbott cited 鈥淕ender Queer鈥� when directing the Texas Education Agency to related to “the availability of pornography鈥� in November and also cited the book when directing the TEA, Texas State Library and Archives Commission and State Board of Education to develop standards to block books with “overtly sexual鈥� content in schools.

Shannon Holmes, executive director of the Association of Texas Professional Educators, said in a statement that pornography has a legal definition and not everything a person finds distasteful meets that definition.

“ATPE urges school districts to recognize the power of the elected school board to work with parents and educators to find the right balance for their local communities and avoid getting caught up in these types of politically motivated pledges,鈥� Holmes said in a statement.

Brian Lopez is an education reporter at , the only member-supported, digital-first, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. This article  at TexasTribune.org.

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