Book Removals

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.”

They include children's access to social media and lawsuits filed by college students who say they should receive refunds for money they paid while campuses were shut down due to COVID-19.

Attorneys for several publishing companies, authors and other plaintiffs filed a document that, in part, disputed a state position that selection of school library books is “government speech” and, as a result, is not subject to the First Amendment.

"The Florida Roundup" talked with reporters from across the state on topics including the hurricanes and how South Florida turning red affected the 2024 elections.

The goal is to make it easier for the public and the state to make sure they comply with state laws that restrict sexually and age-inappropriate materials.

The state’s motion, in part, said the “selection of public-school library books is government speech and therefore not subject to the First Amendment.”

The list includes classics and newer favorites that were removed or discontinued in Florida K-12 schools during the 2023-24 school year.

For the second year in a row, Florida removed more books from school libraries than any other state, according to PEN America.

Shannon Hausinger is a USF graduate hired by New College in February, after working for more than a decade in Texas.