UT will not accept new applicants to its school librarian certificate program for summer 2027, after several years of declining enrollment, according to the College of Natural Sciences. The certificate is a one-year cohort for people who have completed an undergraduate degree and want to become school librarians.
Leaders of the former School of Information paused applications before the school was consolidated into the College of Natural Sciences’ new School of Computing this fall, according to the Department of Information. Fewer than 10 students are pursuing the certification, the department wrote.
The program launched in 2019 to meet demand for school librarians across Texas. That shortage has not lessened, said Carolyn Foote, a retired school librarian who taught in the program.
“We have a shortage of librarians, but people are more reluctant to enter the field,” Foote said. “Librarians are just tired, and people outside the field see it and go, ‘Well, that doesn’t look like something I want to face myself in my own career.’”
Kay Gooch, a retired school librarian and current information lecturer who supervises the program’s practicums, said she once had 14 practicum students in a single year. This semester she has two, and no one is in line behind them.
Gooch said she believes Senate Bill 13 is contributing to the decline in interest in the career. The bill requires school boards to approve library purchases and post proposed titles for public review before ordering books.
“No one wants to be a school librarian because of all the restrictions,” Gooch said.
Texas schools accounted for 8,193 of the nation’s 11,982 book bans during the 2025-26 school year, according to a PEN America report released this month. The report links the rise in book bans to SB 13.
“If you want a book, you have to be extremely cautious on putting it in your library,” Gooch said. “SB 13 has just made people more scared.”
Legislators who passed the bill say the law protects children.
“Senate Bill 13 enhances transparency and accountability, ensuring that school libraries are a safe and appropriate environment for students,” state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, who wrote the bill, wrote in a February 2025 statement.
Foote said the bill’s goals are not the problem. The rigorous review process is what worries librarians.
“I think it’s great to have transparency. I think it’s good to have checks and balances, but the process has really bogged down the academic function of a school library,” Foote said.
Gooch’s spring course, Materials for Children and Young Adults, required only for school librarians, may be canceled without adequate enrollment.
“I really want to teach it one more time,” Gooch said.
