Frank Strong
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frankstrong.bsky.social
Frank Strong
@frankstrong.bsky.social
6.9K followers 600 following 670 posts
Teacher. Publisher of the Book-Loving Texan’s Guides to School Board Elections. Co-founder of Texas Freedom to Read Project.
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frankstrong.bsky.social
Frank Strong @frankstrong.bsky.social · 3d
I made an interactive map! This is a look at the effects Tx book-banning laws have had just *since the end of last school year*. I made it because it's easy to hear a shocking story about a book ban and then forget it and lose the larger picture.
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26 - Google My Maps
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26
www.google.com
frankstrong.bsky.social
Don’t know if I’ve ever read truer words.
davidjroth.bsky.social David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 23h
So much of American history is just impulsive and extremely stupid elites, who don't believe in consequences because they have never personally experienced them, doing highly consequential stuff because they're bored or believe it might make them richer. I guess a lot of our culture, too.
January 3, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
davidjroth.bsky.social
So much of American history is just impulsive and extremely stupid elites, who don't believe in consequences because they have never personally experienced them, doing highly consequential stuff because they're bored or believe it might make them richer. I guess a lot of our culture, too.
January 3, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
frankstrong.bsky.social
I made an interactive map! This is a look at the effects Tx book-banning laws have had just *since the end of last school year*. I made it because it's easy to hear a shocking story about a book ban and then forget it and lose the larger picture.
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26 - Google My Maps
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26
www.google.com
January 1, 2026 at 12:45 AM
frankstrong.bsky.social
Greg Abbott is BRAGGING about this. He sent out a press release this week listing SB12 & SB13 as accomplishments--as if they aren't actively harming Texas kids. If that pisses you off as much as it does me, it's a great day to donate to @ginafortexas.bsky.social. ginafortexas.com
January 1, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
drannd.bsky.social
Texas worked hard to take the lead in book bans in 2025. I'm grateful @frankstrong.bsky.social and @txfreedomread.bsky.social work so hard to make these quiet bans public.

And, even with all their work, this reckoning is a vast under-count.

Primaries are in March. Are you registered to vote?
frankstrong.bsky.social Frank Strong @frankstrong.bsky.social · 3d
I made an interactive map! This is a look at the effects Tx book-banning laws have had just *since the end of last school year*. I made it because it's easy to hear a shocking story about a book ban and then forget it and lose the larger picture.
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26 - Google My Maps
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26
www.google.com
January 1, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
becalzada.bsky.social
Curious about censorship actions in Texas? Be sure to check out this thread 🧵

Thank you @frankstrong.bsky.social for the new Substack post and map! @freadomfighters.bsky.social
frankstrong.bsky.social Frank Strong @frankstrong.bsky.social · 3d
I made an interactive map! This is a look at the effects Tx book-banning laws have had just *since the end of last school year*. I made it because it's easy to hear a shocking story about a book ban and then forget it and lose the larger picture.
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26 - Google My Maps
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26
www.google.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
niais.bsky.social
More trans joy in 2026!

www.texasobserver.org/protect-tran...

(thanks to @kitoconnell.com for this lovely coverage in Austin)
At Barton Springs, Trans Existence Becomes Resistance
Following a transphobic incident earlier this year, community members gathered to "protect trans joy."
www.texasobserver.org
December 31, 2025 at 11:09 PM
frankstrong.bsky.social
I made an interactive map! This is a look at the effects Tx book-banning laws have had just *since the end of last school year*. I made it because it's easy to hear a shocking story about a book ban and then forget it and lose the larger picture.
www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26 - Google My Maps
Mapping Texas Book Bans SY 25-26
www.google.com
January 1, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Reposted by Frank Strong
carajackson.bsky.social
Interesting secondary finding: "Identity turns out to be a poor proxy for ideology, with limited governance effects that are fully explained by differences in policy priorities."
December 31, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
frankstrong.bsky.social
I love this story of real parents pushing back against out-of-town book banners in San Marcos, Texas. It also has a message on the power of persistence to bring into 2026.
substack.com/@franklinstr...
Frank Strong (@franklinstrong)
substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:35 AM
frankstrong.bsky.social
I love this story of real parents pushing back against out-of-town book banners in San Marcos, Texas. It also has a message on the power of persistence to bring into 2026.
substack.com/@franklinstr...
Frank Strong (@franklinstrong)
substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Reposted by Frank Strong
slj.com
‘The Librarians’ To Premiere on PBS on February 9
www.slj.com/story/The-Li...
'The Librarians' To Premiere on PBS on February 9 | School Library Journal
Calling the documentary an Oscar contender, Deadline reported that The Librarians will headline the PBS' Independent Lens series.
www.slj.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
heykellyjensen.bsky.social
A 1974 study from Purdue University asked 10th-12th graders their feelings about book bans and lo and behold, those who opposed censorship got better grades, read more, and had stronger vocabularies than their peers.

(Psst: it's the same today because this IS about intellectual access)
Clipping from The Akron Beacon, November 6, 1974, titled "Censorship Foes Better Students?" which explains how students opposed to book censorship earn better grades than their peers.
December 28, 2025 at 12:27 PM
frankstrong.bsky.social
Morning run
Sunrise over railroad tracks in Marfa, Texas Highway outside of Marfa, Texas
December 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM
frankstrong.bsky.social
Just for an end-of-year change, here are some things I've written in my life that have nothing to do with book bans. I got this idea when somebody resurfaced this post I wrote for the UT Spanish Dept's blog in 2013. It was later reposted at The End of Austin:
endofaustin.com/2016/05/24/b...
Borges in Austin
I’ve lived in Austin for almost nine years: four as an undergraduate and then, after a stint in Houston, four and a half more while I’ve worked on my PhD. I love this city, but I sometimes miss the…
endofaustin.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:55 AM
frankstrong.bsky.social
Whenever I’m in the Big Bend area, I pick up the Big Bend Sentinel. Print is not dead and local journalism matters, y’all.
Picture of the front page of The Big Bend Sentinel.
December 24, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
frankstrong.bsky.social
Please don’t take your eyes away from the damage book banning laws are doing in Texas. In Boerne ISD, a kindergarten class was forced to cancel its planned holiday party book exchange due to HB900 and SB13.
A post from Texas Freedom to Read Project featuring Grinch arms pointing to a class communication from a Boerne ISD kindergarten teacher that reads: “Dear Families, We regret to let you know that we are going to have to cancel our classroom book exchange for the winter party. Due to the passage of HB 900 and SB 13, we have been informed that books would need to be vetted before being sent home with students. With the quick turnaround, this won't be possible. If your child has already sent in a book, it will be returned to you. Our room parents have worked hard and we will still have plenty of fun and engaging activities at our winter party. Thank you for your understanding”
December 23, 2025 at 3:07 AM
frankstrong.bsky.social
Please don’t take your eyes away from the damage book banning laws are doing in Texas. In Boerne ISD, a kindergarten class was forced to cancel its planned holiday party book exchange due to HB900 and SB13.
A post from Texas Freedom to Read Project featuring Grinch arms pointing to a class communication from a Boerne ISD kindergarten teacher that reads: “Dear Families, We regret to let you know that we are going to have to cancel our classroom book exchange for the winter party. Due to the passage of HB 900 and SB 13, we have been informed that books would need to be vetted before being sent home with students. With the quick turnaround, this won't be possible. If your child has already sent in a book, it will be returned to you. Our room parents have worked hard and we will still have plenty of fun and engaging activities at our winter party. Thank you for your understanding”
December 23, 2025 at 3:07 AM
frankstrong.bsky.social
I’ve been saying OU sucks for years.
randall.gobirds.online ran⚡ @randall.gobirds.online · 12d
Not to be outdone by the football team this weekend, the University of Oklahoma put out a statement at 3:02PM stating "The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the University."
A student's claim of religious discrimination on an individual assignment in an online Psychology Course taught by a graduate teaching assistant has come to resolution. As stated previously, the student followed two available processes at the University: the grade appeals process in the college and she made a formal claim of illegal religious discrimination. As already announced, the grade appeal was decided in favor of the student, removing the assignment completely from the student's total point value of the class, resulting in no academic harm to the student. The claim for discrimination has been investigated and concluded. The University does not release findings from such investigations. At the same time of the investigation, the Provost-the University's highest ranking academic officer- and the academic Dean reviewed the full facts of the matter. Based on an examination of the graduate teaching assistant's prior grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant's own statements related to this matter, it was determined that the graduate teaching assistant was arbitrary in the grading of this specific paper. The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the University. Because this matter involves both student and faculty rights, the University has engaged in repeated and detailed conversations with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to ensure there is an understanding of the facts, the process, and the actions being taken. The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in both its faculty's rights to teach with academic freedom and integrity and its students' right to receive an education that is free from a lecturer's impermissible evaluative standards. We are committed to teaching students how to think, not what to think. The University will continue to review best practices to ensure that its instructors have the comprehensive training necessary to objectively assess their students' work without l
December 23, 2025 at 2:49 AM
frankstrong.bsky.social
Putting together a map of school book bans in Texas this year. Here it is alongside Moms for Liberty’s map of its chapters. No surprise, but pretty striking.
(Incomplete) Map of book bans in Texas school districts this school year so far. Shows a clusters of bans in the same places Moms for Liberty’s chapters appear in the accompanying map. Map of Moms for Liberty chapters in Texas. Shows chapters in the same places where school book bans appear in the accompanying map.
December 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
flfreedomread.bsky.social
“It’s not a “Florida” thing. It’s not a “Texas” thing. It’s a 21 states out of 50 thing. The government wants to dictate to half of this country's states what they can read & what they can think. They want public institutions of democracy & civic engagement to be mouthpieces of government beliefs.”
heykellyjensen.bsky.social kelly jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 15d
This week, we learned 21 states are eager to dismantle your First Amendment Rights.

It should be bigger news.

Here's the story, and here's what you can be doing about it. These are YOUR RIGHTS that the states want to steal from you.

buttondown.com/wellsourced/...
The Blueprint of Censorship In 2026 Is Florida, Right Now
This week, we learned 21 states are eager to dismantle your First Amendment Rights. It should be bigger news.
buttondown.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
heykellyjensen.bsky.social
This week, we learned 21 states are eager to dismantle your First Amendment Rights.

It should be bigger news.

Here's the story, and here's what you can be doing about it. These are YOUR RIGHTS that the states want to steal from you.

buttondown.com/wellsourced/...
The Blueprint of Censorship In 2026 Is Florida, Right Now
This week, we learned 21 states are eager to dismantle your First Amendment Rights. It should be bigger news.
buttondown.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Frank Strong
mrtylercrook.bsky.social
It needs to be said more often that the world is a better, more beautiful and more enriching place BECAUSE trans people are a part of it.
November 20, 2025 at 5:26 PM
frankstrong.bsky.social
These are the worst people in America.
Texas State Rep Hillary Hickland posting a meme with Dan Levy saying “That’s correct” in response to my post that read: “ ‘Forcing gender ideology’ on our children” means trans teachers existing.” Hyper-conservative Texas politician Mary Bone reposting and liking my post that reads: “ ‘“Forcing gender ideology on our children’ means trans teachers existing.” Moms for Liberty of Hays County liking my post that reads: “ ‘Forcing gender ideology on our children’ means trans teachers existing.” Moms for Liberty of Corpus Christi liking my post that reads: “ ‘Forcing gender ideology on our children’ means trans teachers existing.”
December 17, 2025 at 1:44 AM