Cy-Fair ISD board discusses library access opt-out policy shift

Who's involved

• Lesley Guilmart · Trustee^[1]
• Todd LeCompte · Trustee^[1]
• Justin Ray · Trustee^[1]
• Kendra Camarena · Trustee^[1]

The facts

1. The board discussed moving to an opt-out process for parents deciding on student access to certain library materials, currently an opt-in process, during a Nov. 5, 2026 work session.^[1]
2. Senate Bill 13 requires school districts to allow parents to submit a list of materials they don't want their students to access in the school's library.^[1]
3. Trustee Lesley Guilmart said her goal for switching to an opt-out process is to better align local board policy with state law, as the local policy is currently more restrictive.^[1]
4. During the 2025-26 school year, 16% of high school students in Cy-Fair ISD were granted access to books from the adult level collection.^[1]
5. The district's fiscal year 2025-26 financial audit found the administrative cost ratio at 3.74%, or 4.81 percentage points lower than the Texas Education Agency threshold.^[1]
6. Before the proposed revision's second reading, the board requested action steps from administration including anonymous feedback from librarians and data regarding online and print library materials circulation over time.^[1]
7. A regular board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 9, 2026 at 6 p.m. in the Mark Henry Administration Building Boardroom at 11440 Matzke Road, Cypress.^[1]

Who said what

• Trustee Lesley Guilmart Reading engaging books correlates with higher academic achievement and switching to opt-out has ramifications for students' education and learning.^[1]
• Trustee Lesley Guilmart The current policy is onerous for parents or they are not even aware of the requirement to opt their children into being able to access certain books.^[1]
• Trustee Todd LeCompte The current process protects the district, as it allows parents to be the ones giving permission for their children to access these materials.^[1]
• Trustee Justin Ray It is much more likely that the district will get angry phone calls or emails from parents whose students are getting access to objectionable materials without their knowledge, versus a parent or two unaware that their child did not have access to a book.^[1]
• Trustee Kendra Camarena She wants to make sure that whatever the district does with this policy, it does not put an additional burden on librarians, because they are already split between campuses.^[1]