First Amendment Victory in HB900 READER Act

October 24, 2025
Freedom to Read Foundation
American Association of School Librarians
Chicago, IL

First Amendment Victory in HB900 READER Act

On Tuesday, October 21, a Federal judge in Waco, Texas declared that House Bill 900, also known as the READER Act, violates the constitution. A copy of the final order can be accessed here: Book People v. Wong. The ruling makes a lower court's temporary injunction, that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld, permanent.

In November of 2023, the Freedom to Read Foundation and the American Association of School Librarians filed an amicus curiae brief in the Fifth Circuit that supported the request by the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and two Texas bookstores to halt enforcement of the Texas law HB 900 on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment rights of booksellers, publishers, authors and students. A copy of the amicus brief can be accessed here: FTRF and AASL Amici Curiae Brief.

“The Freedom to Read Foundation applauds the ruling by Judge Albright which declares unconstitutional the rating system HB 900 wanted to impose on bookstores and publishers,” said FTRF President Lesliediana Jones. “As the court stated, this act ‘. . misses the mark on accomplishing its goal and is unconstitutional.’ The rating process within this act does not employ a ‘. . meaningful interest in curation content for children.’ The process imposed by this act would have compelled speech and violated First Amendment rights of the vendors.  FTRF was proud to file an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. This is a victory for intellectual freedom, First Amendment rights, and everyone's right to read.”

“This ruling is a tremendous victory for students and educators in Texas and reaffirms the essential role school libraries play in a thriving democracy. At a time when school librarians have been on the front lines fighting against unprecedented levels of censorship, this decision clearly upholds the First Amendment and protects the freedom to read for every student,” said AASL President, Amanda Kordeliski. “House Bill 900 sought to bypass the expertise of trained school library professionals by replacing it with arbitrary and unconstitutional restrictions imposed by the government. This decision acknowledges that students have the right to learn and explore diverse ideas and narratives without inappropriate restrictions. The American Association of School Librarians was proud to lend its voice to the amicus brief in this case and will continue to support school librarians everywhere who advocate for intellectual freedom in their communities.”

HB 900 would have compelled any vendor who sold books to a Texas school district or charter school to review and rate all of the books already sold to the school and any book it wishes to sell to schools in the future. Books would have been rated as either "sexually explicit," "sexually relevant" or "no rating" based on unclear and arbitrary government criteria. Under the law, students in Texas would not have been allowed to read or borrow books that merely touch on the topics of sex or relationships regardless of the work’s literary, scientific or artistic value. The law would have impaired students’ freedom to read and learn, and placed many of the classic and contemporary books usually found in school and classroom libraries at risk of unconstitutional censorship.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is a non-profit legal and educational organization. FTRF protects and defends the First Amendment to the Constitution and supports the right of libraries to collect—and individuals to access—information.