New FL Law Will Result In Book Banning, Say Free Speech Advocates

TAMPA, FL — Parents of Florida public elementary school students now have the right to to request that a book be banned from the school library or a textbook banned from the classroom.

On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1467, which requires school districts to give parents a say in the selection of instructional materials, including library books and textbooks.

DeSantis said this legislation gives parents the freedom to decide what curriculum and reading materials are appropriate for their children.

The bill requires school districts to have procedures in place that allow parents to review all books in the school library, all required classroom book lists, all textbooks and any other instructional materials a teacher intends to use. Parents can then file an objection Florida’s Department of Education.

The bill’s signing comes in the wake of parents calling for a ban on certain books from school libraries award-winning literary works like “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini and “The Bluest Eye” by the late author, Toni Morrison, the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

The bill comes on the heels of the passage of the controversial so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Senate Bill 1834, which prevents public school districts from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade, or “in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”

Now, free speech advocates fear the HB 1467 bill could lead to a challenge on books that tell the stories of racial minorities, holocaust survivors and those who are LGBTQ, and would give the Florida Department of Education the right to essentially censor materials it deems “inappropriate.”

Under the bill, school media specialists must go through a public approval process before adding materials to the library. Parents will have a “reasonable opportunity” to review and raise objections about new books or educational materials being considered for the school library or classroom.

School district library media center materials and assigned school or grade-level reading lists must also be reviewed by a district employee holding a valid educational media specialist certificate. The bill also requires the Florida Department of Education to develop an online training program for librarians and media specialists.

The superintendent of schools in each district must certify to the DOE commissioner that all school librarians and media center specialists have taken this training.

If materials are deemed objectionable by the Florida Department of Education, they will be added to a list of discontinued reading materials that will be distributed to all Florida public schools.

Among the books parents have raised objections to are “It Feels Good To Be Yourself,” by Theresa Thorn, the mother of a transgender girl. The book directed toward elementary school-age students explains gender identity in terms children can understand.

Those objecting to the book say it will cause gender confusion in children.

Other books conservative groups want banned include “I Am Jazz,” by Jessica Herthel, an autobiographical children’s picture book about a transgender teen.

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom said there’s been a surge in book challenges in the past year that rivals those seen in 1973 when the school board in Drake, North Dakota, ordered the burning of 32 copies of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” and 60 copies of James Dickey’s “Deliverance” for use of profanity and references to homesexuality.

“We saw an unprecedented volume of challenges in the fall of 2021,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom. “In my 20 years with ALA, I can’t recall a time when we had multiple challenges coming in on a daily basis.”

The ALA released a list of the top 10 most challenged books in 2020, and among the books on the list is, “The Bluest Eye.”

It tells the story of a young Black girl growing up in the Great Depression who is fixated on the white standard of beauty and wishes she had blue eyes.

Also making the list was George M. Johnson’s book, “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” which relays Johnson’s experience growing up as a gay Black man.

“It is very interesting, and sometimes just overwhelming to, daily, get Google Alerts of new counties, every single day, removing the book from classrooms while also getting direct messages from students and from parents who are desperately fighting to keep the book in school systems,” Caldwell-Stone said during a news conference hosted by PEN America, a free speech advocacy group.

Tracie Hall, executive director of the ALA, said many of the books being banned are intended to help children overcome real-world challenges.

“It is so important to provide access to a free range of reading to young people to help them actually problem solve before they encounter the problem in real life,” she said.

Removing these books from a reading list or library shelves will not erase the need for some students to learn about inclusive ideas and feel more secure in themselves, she said. It only robs those students of the opportunity to better understand themselves.

The American Civil Liberties Union has similar concerns. Last month, the ACLU sued the Wentzville School District in Missouri on behalf of two students for removing eight books from school libraries due to issues of race, gender and sexual identity, including “The Bluest Eye.”

“The banned books engage their readers with a diversity of ideas and minority viewpoints, including with respect to race, gender, and sexual identity,” said the ACLU in its lawsuit. “The district banned the books from school libraries because of the ideological disagreement members of the district’s school board and certain vocal community members have with the ideas and viewpoints that the books express.”

Following the lawsuit, the school district rescinded its ban of “The Bluest Eye.”

“This is welcome news. Access to ‘The Bluest Eye’ was taken from students for three months just because a community member did not think they should have access to Toni Morrison’s story,” said Anthony Rothert, director of integrated advocacy for the ACLU of Missouri. “But the fact remains that six books are still banned. And Wentzville’s policies still make it easy for any community member to force any book from the shelves even when they shamelessly target books by and about communities of color, LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups.

“The first amendment protects the right to share ideas, including the right of people to receive information and knowledge,” Rothert said. “We must protect this right, including educators’ and students’ rights to talk and learn about race and gender in schools.”

Other books targeted by the school district include “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Paperback,” by Alison Bechdel; “All Boys Aren’t Blue;” “Heavy: An American Memoir,” by Kiese Laymon; “Lawn Boy,” by Jonathan Evison; “Gabi, A Girl in Pieces,” by Isabel Quintero; “Modern Romance,” by Aziz Ansari; and “Invisible Girl,” by Lisa Jewell.

DeSantis, however, said parents have the right to restrict access to what their children read.

“In Florida, our parents have every right to be involved in their child’s education. We are not going to let politicians deny parents the right to know what is being taught in our schools. I’m proud to sign this legislation that ensures curriculum transparency,” DeSantis said.

“While teachers, school administrators, and school board members have a tremendous amount of authority over what and how our kids are taught in school, at the end of the day, parents — not schools — are responsible for raising children,” said Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby.

“Florida parents are seeking greater involvement in many aspects of our education system, and this legislation speaks to that effort,” Simpson said. “The books our kids are reading in schools need to have proper vetting. Parents have a right, and a responsibility, to be involved in that process. Not all books are appropriate for every grade level. This legislation makes sure that we have a transparent and consistent process for public participation in the review of books and other materials used in school lessons and in the school library.”

“We depend on our K-12 schools to teach facts and age-appropriate subject material. We expect them to be transparent about the contents of the curriculum in our classrooms and to value parent feedback,” said House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor. “This legislation will improve accountability, curriculum transparency and trust, and it will ensure that Florida continues its tradition of maintaining the highest expectations for our education system.”

“Recently I discovered one of the most disturbing, pornographic books in my child’s high school in Orange County,” said Alicia Farrant, the parent of a student in an Orange County school. “After some research, I learned that an alarming percentage of high school and middle school library books contain similar material. It is appalling that removal of pornographic and sexually explicit books has even been cause for debate. Our students deserve to have high quality, academically rich books at their fingertips and under no circumstance should they have access to graphic, pornographic material at school.”

Banned Or Most Challenged Books

The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 156 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2020. Of the 273 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:

• “George” by Alex Gino. Reasons: Challenged, banned and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint and not reflecting “the values of our community.”
• “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. Reasons: Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.
• “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now.”
• “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, Reasons: Banned, challenged and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity.
• “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct by the author.
• “Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice” by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin. Reasons: Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote anti-police views.
• “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.
• “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes, and their negative effect on students.
• “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison. Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse.
• “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas Reasons: Challenged for profanity, and it was thought to promote an anti-police message.

The American Civil Liberties Union put together its own list of the 20 top banned books that includes:

• “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” by Judy Blume
• “James and the Giant Peach,: by Roald Dahl
• “The Witches,” by Roald Dahl
• “Where’s Waldo?” by Martin Hanford
• “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” by Kathryn Harper
• “A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeleine L’Engle
• “Bridge to Terabithia,” by Katherine Paterson
• “Captain Underpants” series, by Dav Pilkey
• “Harry Potter” series, by J.K. Rowling
• “A Light in the Attic,” by Shel Silverstein
• “The Hunger Games Trilogy,” by Suzanne. T Collins
• “The Face on the Milk Carton,” by Caroline Cooney
• “Invisible Man,” by Ralph Ellison
• “The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott. Fitzgerald
• “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl,” by Anne Frank
• “The Outsiders,” by S.E. Hinton
• “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini
• “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” by Zora Neale Hurston
• “Brave New World,” by Aldous Huxley
• “Carrie,” by Stephen King