Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has urged Texas school districts to remove books from shelves, citing a list of about 2,000 titles from Protecting Texas Children.

The push to remove titles unfolds alongside broader state policies and evolving standards for student reading materials in Texas schools.

Among the titles on Patrick's list are Night by Elie Wiesel, The Giver graphic novel by P. Craig Russell, Let’s Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, Anne Frank’s Diary graphic adaptation by Ari Folman and David Polonsky, Forever by Judy Blume, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, How to Be a (Young) Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone, and Beloved by Toni Morrison.

The moves occur within Senate Bill 13, which bans profane or indecent material in school libraries and creates a school library advisory council under certain petition conditions.

The Texas State Board of Education approved a required reading list for public schools this summer, featuring nearly 200 texts and ensuring at least one book per grade level; several titles on Patrick’s list appear on that required list.

Several books on the list have previously faced controversy or removal attempts in other Texas districts, highlighting ongoing debates over censorship and curriculum content.

Dallas ISD directed campus leaders to pull all titles on Patrick’s referenced list from libraries for review and possible removal after his August warnings.