The Florida Department of Education has released a list of over 700 books that were “removed or discontinued” from districts throughout the state last school year.
That’s an increase of almost 400 books from the list released for the previous school year.
Florida law allows parents and residents to challenge elementary through high school-level books containing themes including race, sexuality and gender identity. The law also requires districts to submit an annual report to the state detailing which books have been restricted in their schools.
The list released for 2023-24 includes titles by American literary icons like Maya Angelou, Flannery O’Connor and Richard Wright.
It also includes books that have become top targets for censorship across the country because they feature LGBTQ+ characters, discussions of gender and sexuality, and descriptions of sexual encounters, such as “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George Johnson, and “Gender Queer,” by Maia Kobabe.
Conservative advocates have labeled such content “pornographic.”
Florida Freedom to Read Project director Stephana Ferrell called the list an undercount and says she’s worried that even according to Education Department data, book removals continue to rise in the state.
“A lot of them removed many, many books, including classic literature and literature that regularly appears on the AP exams and prepares our students for college level coursework. We're removing all of these books,” said Ferrell, whose organization tracks book challenges in the state.
Ferrell said a few parents and residents still make up the bulk of these challenges.
“And right now, what's happening is one or two loud people in a particular district can dictate for all what is available, and it runs against, again, what a majority of parents are telling their school districts they want,” said Ferrell.
PEN America found Florida led the country again last year in book removals with over 4,500, costing districts about $34,000 to $135,000 a year.
“Everywhere from Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’, George Orwell,” said Farrell. “If you take the time to look at that list, you will recognize that there is an issue with … this movement.”
In a statement, the Department of Education defended the state’s push to remove “sexually explicit materials” from schools.
“There are no books banned in Florida and sexually explicit materials do not belong in schools. Once again, far left activist groups are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians. The better question is why do these groups continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit materials,” the agency said.
Starting in 2023, a law required every school district in Florida to have a policy in place for challenging books that include content that “depicts or describes sexual conduct, is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented, or is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used.”
Thousands of books were challenged, including the Bible, dictionaries and literary classics.
In response, Gov, Ron DeSantis asked the Legislature to put some restrictions in place when it came to book challenges, and in 2024, he signed HB 1285, which restricts the number of challenges a nonparent can make in a district.
According to the latest list, Clay County led the state in the number of books removed with 287. The district said 94 percent of the books were challenged by Bruce Friedman, who represents the organization No Left Turn in Education.
Here’s the list of books that were removed during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Florida Department of Education:
Information from Jacksonville Today and the Associated Press was used in this report.
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