According to the Florida Department of Education, Florida school districts have removed over 300 books from their shelves. But how did this happen? In 2021, local citizens and advocacy groups started a movement to remove certain books from schools for being “harmful” or “explicit.” Conducted by submitting book challenges, a process where they file a complaint to the school to remove the book, which is then reviewed by the school board. Although book challenges have always been a thing, in 22-2023, these complaints started pouring in, leading to 300 books being removed from school libraries, despite an overwhelming 70% of parents being opposed to book banning in school libraries shown in a study by The American Library Association (ALA).
While giving the minority party a voice is always essential in an ethical system, recent laws surrounding book challenges have taken it too far. Of course, parents should have the right to control what their child is exposed to; however, they should not have the right to censor a community. Additionally, if only 30% of parents find book challenges ethical, who is filing them, and what is enabling them to get away with blatant censorship?
In 2020, Ron DeSantis’s administration instated him as “Education Governer,” practically bouncing in his seat with excitement to drastically change the state’s education system. Desantis went on a crusade to fight against “woke education,” after announcing his presidential candidacy in 2023, he’s only gotten worse.
Before his presidency, DeSantis passed the Florida Parents Rights Education Act -the “Don’t say gay bill”- taking effect in July 2022. The bill gave parents more control over what their children learn at school, though it gained its nickname because parents used it to censor books covering sexuality and gender. Despite initially only applying to grades 1-4, Desantis’s administration amended the bill to protect grades 4-12. After his presidency announcement, they doubled down on the existing legislation, tightening regulations on The District of Education to ensure they followed through.
To list a few, “The 57 Bus” by Dashka Slater, “The ABC’s of LGBT” by Ashley Mardell, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by AlexieAll, “the Bright Places” by Jennifer Niven, “Ace of Spades” by Faridah Abike Lyimide, “All American Boys” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas, “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins, “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo” by Jill Twiss, “Different Kinds of Fruit” by Kyle Lukeoff, “Allegedly” by Tiffany D. Jackson, “A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sarah J. Maas. All of these are books that have been banned in the state of Florida under the Florida Parents Rights Education Act.
If you recall, earlier, I explained how before a book is banned, it must be discussed by the school board; logically, you would assume that because the school board is unbiased among the needless complaints, the genuinely detrimental books would be weeded out. However, due to heavy political pressure from the regulations mentioned above and policy, schools were inclined to remove most books brought to their attention.
Additionally, book challenges are discussed publicly, meaning activist groups can show up in swarms to pressure school decisions. For example, local chapters of Moms for Liberty, county citizens defending freedom, and No Left Turn in Education often show up in drives. Furthermore, although the discussions are between the school board members, public comments are usually allowed, leading to parents angrily expressing their views.
It’s no surprise books are flying off the shelves between strict regulations and angry parents, but what’s more controversial is how easily this system is abused.
In fact, most book complaints in Florida came from just two people. According to the Tampa Bay Times, records show that out of approximately 1,100 complaints, more than 600 came from just two people: parent Bruce Friedman and teacher Vicki Baggett, who are members of the activist group No Left Turn in Education.
On the other hand, if a teacher tries to remove a particular book, her reasons must surely be valid. Despite her background, many of her complaints contained vague or biased claims, even though she claimed to have read all the books. Furthermore, the idea of a teacher controlling what materials are shown to students contradicts her policy. If the bill’s purpose is to limit what teachers can offer students, the idea of a teacher filing over half the complaints is almost ironic, if not sad. It’s even in the name of Florida PARENTS Rights Education Act, not teachers.
In summary, the Florida Parents Rights Education Act is inefficient and easily exploited, not to mention aimed only to benefit a small minority of parents while infringing on the rights of the majority. Upset parents are crying wolf about “inappropriate” books infringing on their rights, but they fail to realize that under no circumstance should their rights triumph over others. Can we, as Americans, confidently say it’s just for one person to dictate what our children have the right to read? Can someone who knows nothing about thousands of students’ backgrounds, experiences, and cultures confidently decide what is appropriate or good and bad for students? Admittedly, before the Florida Parents Rights Education Act, there were already systems for upset parents to limit what their children read. Many schools offer an opt-out system where parents can opt-out on a case-by-case basis of their child’s access to Library Media materials at any time by contacting their school Library Media Technology Specialist.
The Florida Parents Rights Education Act was initially meant to be a last resort. Still, radical parents quickly abused it after Ron Dessaints enabled it to pass many new laws and regulations. The bill aims to protect parents’ rights while violating others’ rights and only benefits those with pre-standing bias against certain groups. Book Challenges are a tackless idea, to begin with, and need to be carefully revised to create a system where parents can equally decide what materials are okay for their children. Without reaching a compromise between the majority parents and minority, the issue will only grow; while the Ron Dessaints administration won’t, we, the people, can, by communicating a need for change to our state government, for the right to education to be up to the people, not the person.
If you would like to check out the bill itself, you can find it at 2022 Bill Summaries – The Florida Senate (flsenate.gov)