Several organizations critical of Florida’s restrictions on education materials are warning school officials against removing books that contain health information — even if that information has been removed from the health curriculum for middle school students.
Four groups — the Florida Freedom to Read Project (FFTRP), PEN America, EveryLibrary, and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCA) — sent a letter to school superintendents and attorneys representing Florida’s school boards urging restraint when it comes to books that include topics such as anatomy, teen pregnancy, and sexual assault.
The letter noted that the Florida Department of Education has imposed restrictions on such topics being taught in schools. But the groups argue this does not mean students should not be able to research the topics in the school library.
No preemptive expansion
“Our concern is that these new limitations imposed on classroom curriculum may be preemptively expanded to school and classroom libraries, thus limiting the valuable and important support they offer students,” the letter argues, noting that books have been removed from libraries to over-comply with state law.
Stephana Ferrell, director for research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project, said she has children who attend school in Orange County but lacks “the option to decide whether or not they receive timely and necessary information about consent, contraceptives, and prenatal development from a trusted educator — the state has made that decision for me. Having this information available in our public schools is essential to protecting the overall health and wellbeing of our communities. It’s imperative that our school libraries fulfill the need that our classrooms no longer can.”
The groups in their letter cite arguments made by the office of Attorney General Ashley Moody in a lawsuit that the authors of “And Tango makes Three” filed against the Lake County School District. The district restricted access for some elementary students to the book about two male penguins who raise a chick together. Moody’s office stated that the Legislature’s decision that some materials are inappropriate for classroom use does not mean they are “categorically inappropriate in the very different setting of a school library.”
School districts have been grappling with what books should be allowed in Florida school libraries for the last several years due to laws put in place by state legislators and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The laws allow parents and others to challenge books, although lawmakers this year placed limits on the number of challenges. The Department of Education this fall released a list of more than 700 books that had been removed or discontinued in schools across the state.
Critics have ripped into the state about the book removals, but DeSantis and other state officials insist they are making sure that only age-appropriate material is being made available. They contend it is a “hoax” to classify the book removals as a ban.
Those who sent the letter worry that more book removals are coming.
“Florida has been winning the race to ban books for far too long, and the cuts to sex education are not only dangerous, but ripe for over-application and likely to lead to more books being ripped from the shelves,” said Katie Blankenship, PEN America’s Florida senior director and counsel. “Florida’s leadership should be focused on shoring up public education and restoring books to libraries – not targeting critical curriculum.”
–Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix
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