But in practice, some county officials have been readily restricting access to school library books based on challenges mirroring the bill. The state currently mandates that librarians undergo training to avoid selecting books that violate Florida regulations and to 'err on the side of caution' when selecting materials.įlorida has argued in court that the 'Don't Say Gay' bill applies only to classroom materials. The new laws and administrative rules have been cited by teachers, librarians, administrators, and parents alike as the reason for books being removed from school shelves.įear of tempting the wrath of parents or the Florida Department of Education has left many educators walking on eggshells. While the new laws don't ban specific titles, they've opened the door for activists to challenge dozens of books in Florida schoolhouses on the grounds that they contain non-compliant content. The surge in the removal of books - many of which are about race, sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity - came amid a flurry of new Florida laws such as the Stop WOKE Act, which restricts teaching about systemic racism in schools, and the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill, which bans instruction involving gender identity and sexual orientation before fourth grade (recently extended, in large part, through the end of high school under a new Florida Department of Education rule).

The organization reports that Florida had the second-highest number of book-banning incidents in the nation during that period, trailing only Texas. The nation has seen a surge in book bans over the past two years as parents, conservative activists, and elected officials have flooded school districts with requests to wipe scores of titles from classrooms and libraries - with Florida still leading the pack in such incidents.Īfter more than 200 books were banned in various school districts across Florida between the summer of 2021 and 2022, districts continued the crackdown, banning 357 books between July and December 2022, according to the nonprofit organization PEN America. Still, there's one item school districts in Florida appear to have consistently banned more than almost any other U.S. It's part of a nationwide push by conservative politicians to draw their battle lines in the culture wars and signal to their constituency that they're decidedly anti-woke. Ron DeSantis' administration and the state's Republican-dominated legislature have instituted a dizzying number of regulations restricting what Floridians can say, read, and scroll through mindlessly. Florida's been banning a lot of things these days.įrom an AP African American studies course to classroom gender-identity discussions to TikTok on university phones, Gov.

Returning Pride by Jill Sanders