Texas’ Book Sex-Content Rating System Loses Another Challenge

A new Texas law requiring booksellers to assign sex-content ratings for titles sold to public schools is likely unconstitutional, a federal appeals panel said Wednesday, affirming a district court’s ruling.

In upholding the injunction blocking the so-called READER Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit sought to answer whether the plaintiffs—bookstores, publishers and authors—are likely to succeed on their claims that the law violates the First Amendment.

“Controlling precedent suggests the answer is yes,” Judge Don Willett wrote for the panel.

Wednesday’s decision removes two defendants from the case who are responsible for promoting the library-collection ...