Book Removals

Iris Mogul wanted a place to talk about James Baldwin and Toni Morrison, but she didn't know many people her age who read for pleasure. So she started her own club — for reading banned books.

St. Petersburg woman sets up shop in Sarasota with a selection of “anything that they don't want you to read in school."

Of the bans targeting picture books, about three-quarters are books that address LGBTQ+ themes and roughly half mention race, PEN America says.

State education officials on Wednesday approved two measures that spell out new processes in which special magistrates could hear disputes about issues such as parents' objections to school-library books.

Ron DeSantis' educational policies have faced wide criticism, but they also have paid off politically.

The Escambia County School Board, covering the Pensacola area, urged a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit filed by authors, a publishing company, parents and a non-profit organization challenging the removal or restriction of books in school libraries.

School district board members said state law governing the appropriateness of school instructional materials needs more clarity to be implemented. Additional guidance from the Florida Department of Education is expected on Aug. 23.

As a new school year begins, experts are worried about disruption due to Florida educational policy changes.

The changes to the Hillsborough curriculum guides were made with legislation prohibiting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in mind - laws that critics refer to as "Don't Say Gay."

Florida education officials and the Lake County school district on Friday urged a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit filed after the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three” was removed from school libraries in December in reaction to a controversial state law.

School libraries in Florida are getting more attention as new laws continue restricting what books are available to students. A Pinellas County library is one of the latest to feel that pressure as well.

The books include the novels “Push” which inspired the Oscar-winning movie “Precious.” Also taken out of the libraries of SAIL and Lincoln High: “Me, Earl and the Dying Girl,” which was also made into a film. The novels "Dead End,” "Doomed” and “Lucky” are also out.