Texas Court Rules Book Rating Law Unconstitutional

A federal appeals court this week ruled a Texas law establishing a rating system for books is unconstitutional, the Texas Tribune reported.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans on Wednesday issued a ruling blocking the law, which would have forced booksellers to rate books based on descriptions or references to sex.

Any books that were rated as sexually explicit would be prohibited from being sold to school districts, and school districts would not be allowed to buy books from sellers who would not use the ratings system.

Multiple local booksellers in Texas, as well as national trade organizations such as the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers, sued the state over the law, and a court sided with the booksellers, ruling that the law’s requirement relies on vague criminal states to determine what is “sexually explicit” or “sexually relevant.”

The court also agreed with the booksellers that requiring them to submit ratings to the Texas Education Agency is a violation of their free speech, as it forces them to adopt a viewpoint, which the court ruled amounts to controlled speech. Also, the court ruled the law would place an undue economic hardship on booksellers.