A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked a Texas law that would require qualifications for booksellers dealing with school libraries, agreeing with a lower court that found it unconstitutional.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, said in a decision As published on Wednesday, the State could not violate the Constitution.
“We agree with the State that it has an interest in protecting children from harmful materials in the library. But neither [the State] nor does the public have any interest in enforcing a regulation that violates federal law,’” the appeals court wrote.
The appeals court decision bars the Texas Education Agency from enforcing state law.
Those who sued to block the Texas law, including bookstores and associations representing authors and publishers, called the appeals court decision historic and said it protects authors and allows parents to make decisions about their children without interference from the government.
“This is a good day for bookstores, readers and free expression,” the plaintiffs say. said in a joint statement.
The law, passed in 2023 by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature, would have forced any public school bookseller to rate books based on sexual content.
The law sparked warnings that its broad language could lead to the banning or restriction of “Romeo and Juliet,” “Of Mice and Men,” “Maus” and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” according to a lawsuit filed by booksellers on last year.
It was scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1, 2023, with qualifications due on April 1, according to court documents. In September, the lower court issued an order blocking his execution.
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The lower court determined that decisions in other cases “force a conclusion that the statute is unconstitutional” and that the Supreme Court has ruled that people are free from government-forced speech.
In that lower decision, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright determined that sections of the law (the Restriction of Explicit and Designated Adult Educational Resources, or READER, Act) are unconstitutionally vague, pointing to wide variation in the grades and ages with which booksellers would have to try it. to the account.
The Texas Education Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.
The appeals court determined that bookstores and other entities that sued against the law would likely be successful on the grounds that the law violated their First Amendment rights.
It also concluded that they could suffer irreparable economic damage. One of the booksellers, Blue Willow, argued that it had sold $200,000 worth of books to a Katy school district over the past 5 to 7 years, but that district has now suspended all purchases from any seller.
The law also means that booksellers would have to rate books already sold. Blue Willow estimated that it would cost between $200 and $1,000 per book to comply with the law and between $4 and $500 million to qualify books already sold, when its annual sales are just over $1 million, according to the court’s opinion. appeals.