Book Removals

According to PEN America, Florida has led the nation in book removals for the past two years.

Most on the American Library Association's list include explicit descriptions of sexual enounters, along with LGBTQ+ themes and characters, sexual abuse, and references to drug addiction, racism and slavery.

Under the legislation, school district committees reviewing a challenged book wouldn’t be able to consider literary or artistic merit when deciding to remove it.

GOP legislators say the bill would protect children from harmful content. Critics argue it would escalate challenges of books in schools.

The parents from St. Johns and Orange counties filed a notice of appeal last week after U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor in January sided with the State Board of Education and dismissed their lawsuit.

It is one of a series of lawsuits stemming from a 2023 education law and related decisions by districts to remove from library shelves or restrict access to books deemed “pornographic” or describing “sexual conduct.”