The escalating debate over school library content has taken a significant technological turn, with artificial intelligence emerging as a tool for districts grappling with increasingly restrictive state laws. In New Braunfels, Texas, a district’s temporary closure of its secondary school libraries in October 2023, following the implementation of a new state law, highlighted the growing pressure on educational institutions to meticulously vet their collections. This event, along with the district’s subsequent reliance on AI for material review, illustrates a broader trend across the nation where technology is being deployed to navigate a complex landscape of curriculum control and parental rights advocacy.
The incident in New Braunfels Independent School District (NBISD) began on October 13, 2023, approximately one month after Texas Senate Bill 13 (SB 13) went into effect. This legislation, enacted to prohibit "harmful," "indecent," or "profane" books in school libraries, prompted the NBISD Board of Trustees to issue an immediate shutdown of its middle and high school libraries. While the district later reversed this decision after significant public backlash, the temporary closure underscored the immense administrative burden placed upon school districts by such legislation. The district’s stated intention was to allocate resources to expedite a comprehensive review of its extensive library collection, which encompasses over 195,000 books and resources.
This comprehensive review process has increasingly involved the adoption of artificial intelligence software. NBISD, like many other districts nationwide, is leaning on AI to assist in complying with these restrictive curriculum laws. This reliance on technology marks a new and often controversial development in a years-long movement by Republican states and lawmakers to remove books they deem divisive, indecent, profane, or pornographic from school shelves. What initially began as a parental rights movement, championed by grassroots organizations like Moms for Liberty advocating for the protection of children from perceived offensive materials, has now evolved into wholesale overhauls of school libraries and curricula in numerous locations. These efforts, which initially targeted LGBTQ+ and race-related content, particularly for younger students, have since expanded to encompass a wider range of materials.
In New Braunfels alone, an internal log obtained through a public records request by the Texas Freedom to Read Project revealed that the district had removed, restricted, or re-categorized approximately 1,500 books from its school libraries since June 1, 2023, with the majority of these actions affecting secondary school collections. The same records indicate that over 3,000 books are slated for review or have already been reviewed using AI. The scope of this review is notable, encompassing works by influential historical figures such as former U.S. Representative John Lewis and Ruby Bridges, as well as classical authors like William Shakespeare and Zora Neale Hurston. Even books by or about contemporary figures, including singer Taylor Swift and actor Matthew McConaughey, have been subject to this scrutiny. For high school students, the list of potentially impacted books includes memoirs by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and boxing legend Muhammad Ali, alongside three titles by Jane Austen.
Michelle Harwood, a spokesperson for NBISD, explained the district’s approach in an email to K-12 Dive: "Since SB13 was put into law, NBISD has been reviewing its collection of books to ensure compliance. Books are initially flagged by both internal review tools and third-party vendor resources that identify titles that may require additional evaluation." This process of "flagging" is where AI tools are increasingly being utilized.
However, these measures are raising significant concerns among free speech and education advocates. Kasey Meehan, director of Freedom to Read at PEN America, a free speech advocacy organization, stated, "We just see the way that the book banning movement continues to escalate. And certainly, we also raise concerns and cautions around the use of generative AI as a tool for making these decisions about what is and is not appropriate for schools." These advocates argue that the automation of book evaluation risks creating a chilling effect on intellectual freedom and can lead to the suppression of diverse perspectives.
Proliferating State Laws Fueling District Compliance Measures
The trend of restrictive legislation is not confined to Texas. Approximately 30 states have enacted legislation, issued executive orders, or adopted policy statements that either prohibit or denounce race- or sex-related issues in educational settings, according to the CRT Forward Tracking Project at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law’s Critical Race Studies Program. Many additional districts and localities have independently implemented their own policies, contributing to a fragmented and often contradictory regulatory environment. While the CRT Forward Tracking Project ceased its data collection in 2024, states like Texas have continued to introduce new measures.
Texas’ SB 13, which took effect on September 1, 2023, significantly increased parental oversight of school library materials. The law mandates that school boards approve all books and encourages the establishment of local library advisory councils to assist in this process. Furthermore, it institutes a 30-day public review period for all new book acquisitions. Parents are granted the right to restrict their children’s access to specific materials, and books deemed "harmful," "indecent," or "profane" must be removed based on local community values or age-appropriateness.
According to data from the research and analysis group World Population Review, Texas ranks third nationally in the number of books banned at the district level since 2022, with over 3,700 titles removed. This places it behind Iowa, with nearly 3,800 banned books, and Florida, which leads the nation with over 8,800. The extent to which students’ access to literature is regulated, however, varies considerably not only by state but also by individual school district. Meehan notes that policies exist on a spectrum, ranging from minimal book review processes to extensive overhauls of entire library collections.
This variability in compliance is further complicated by ongoing lawsuits challenging the "vagueness" of some of these laws. Plaintiffs in these cases aim to either limit or entirely halt curriculum restrictions on race- and sex-related issues, which create significant uncertainty for school districts. An illustrative example from Texas involved a district that, in its effort to comply with a state law prohibiting sexually explicit material, banned the Bible as part of a "comprehensive review of library materials." The book was later returned to shelves following public outcry and clarification from a state lawmaker, underscoring the challenges and potential misinterpretations arising from broadly worded legislation. It is within this climate of legal uncertainty and the accompanying administrative workload that districts are increasingly turning to AI solutions.
The Rise of Automated Book-Flagging: Pros and Cons
Companies like Bookmarked are actively marketing their AI-powered technology to school districts. The company reports working with at least 150 school districts in Texas, according to its CEO, Steve Wandler. Bookmarked’s website advertises its services as a solution for school staff to manage "10,000+ titles, new compliance laws, classroom libraries nobody can track." The cost for these services typically ranges from $2 to $3 per student annually.
Wandler articulated the company’s mission: "We went down that path of talking to school districts and figuring out: What is their problem, and how do we solve that? And how do we give them time back to be able to do the things that they need to be doing?" While freedom of speech advocates express reservations about automated decision-making in book selection, Wandler asserts that Bookmarked’s technology primarily automates the preliminary research, flagging potential non-compliant titles for human review by educators.
Crucially, the current version of Bookmarked’s technology does not analyze the content of the books themselves for terms like "profane" or "vulgar." Instead, it compares book titles against publicly available online information, such as negative social media commentary or media attention, and cross-references them with circulated lists of banned books from other districts, organizations like Moms for Liberty, and PEN America.
When questioned about the potential for this method to create a "tunnel vision" effect—where the same books are repeatedly removed based on pre-existing lists and public opinion rather than individualized content-based decisions—Wandler acknowledged the concern. He stated, "Librarians are aware of who are the loud voices out there." He further noted that Bookmarked’s current data is partly derived from "hearsay" and public opinion, adding, "We’re just showing them the data." The company plans to release an updated version of its software in August, which will incorporate copyright analysis to enable content-based flagging and will also serve as a database of books banned by other districts.
A ‘No-Win Situation’ for Districts Amidst AI Adoption
AI companies like Bookmarked are strategically positioning their technology at a time when public education and free speech advocates report that superintendents and librarians are increasingly fearful of non-compliance with complex, often vague, and evolving state laws. As early as 2023, an Iowa school district reportedly used ChatGPT to identify books containing "a description or visual depiction of a sex act." However, ChatGPT incorrectly identified three books in that instance, according to an analysis by The Brennan Center for Justice, an organization that opposes the use of AI in implementing book restrictions.
Kasey Meehan of PEN America observed, "I think there’s fear from superintendents and from principals that they’ll lose their jobs if there’s lots of battles around book bans happening in their district. So best to just, like, get the books off the shelves and kind of remove any obstacles." This sentiment reflects the high-stakes environment in which school leaders are operating.
Kevin Brown, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, commented that many superintendents face intense pressure from both sides of the book debate, regardless of their actions. "If you’re a school leader right now, you are being scrutinized by everyone, and you are in a no-win situation on these decisions," Brown stated. "The bottom line is that superintendents want to educate the kids but often get distracted by adult issues and politics."
Wandler acknowledges the controversial backdrop against which his company is operating. He expressed a desire for Bookmarked to remain neutral, stating, "We want to be Switzerland. It’s so politically charged—we’re just trying to be able to protect books, protect literature, and allow people to read what they want to read."
Bookmarked launched approximately six months before the passage of the Texas law that has significantly increased the administrative workload for superintendents and librarians—an issue the company aims to address. Notably, Moak Casey, an education lobbyist and consulting group that has a financial stake in Bookmarked, has also provided financial backing to right-leaning lawmakers who have championed curriculum restrictions. This includes State Rep. Angela Paxton, the author of SB 13, and Governor Greg Abbott, who signed the bill into law, according to public records. The bill, which initially failed to pass during the 2023-24 Texas legislative session, was ultimately enacted during the 2025-26 legislative session.
During testimony before state lawmakers in 2023, Wandler spoke favorably of SB 13, characterizing it as a measure that would "empower parental access" and "mandate accountability for the school districts" of Texas. He stated that his company’s goal was to help districts preempt book ban disputes by flagging potentially contentious titles and to enable parents to identify books their children cannot bring home. Wandler’s ambition extends beyond Texas, as he told K-12 Dive, "Our viewpoint is if we win Texas, we win the country. If we can solve it in Texas, we can solve it in the other states." This statement underscores the national implications of the technological and legislative trends emerging from Texas in the ongoing debate over school library content.
