| As expected, the State Board of Education this week adopted new rules governing the selection of instructional materials and the online listing of all books available in school libraries. It did so as school boards across Florida grapple with increasing numbers of book challenges from conservative groups and individuals that contend certain titles are inappropriate for children to see. A working group of parents and school media specialists has been meeting, most recently Oct. 11, to offer more recommendations about how to control what appears on the shelves. The effort has the Florida Freedom to Read Project raising red flags for whoever will listen.
— Jeffrey S. Solochek, jsolochek@tampabay.com
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| [Courtesy of Stephana Ferrell] |
| Anti-censorship group worries the deck is stacked against its message |
| The Florida Freedom to Read Project is an Orlando-based group that arose to combat efforts to remove books from the public schools, a task made more difficult as state lawmakers eased the way for challenges to occur. "I am fearful of these bills that try to limit discussion in anticipation of someone being offended for going too far," co-founder Stephana Ferrell said. "The future of our democracy and our humanity, the ability to be accepting, tolerant and questioning humans is at stake."
Her fears were not allayed when she saw who was selected to serve on the working group advising the Department of Education. All but one of the media specialists came from "red" counties, while three of the four parents had connections to Moms for Liberty, the Florida Citizens Alliance or Mamas for DeSantis.
One of the parents, Michelle Beavers, made a name for herself pushing to remove books from Brevard County schools. Another, Jennifer Pippin, called on Indian River County schools to remove more than 150 books from the shelves. "Their only qualifying credential is they were challenging books and wanted a rating system," Ferrell contended. "That's what we believe their end game is."
The state had an opportunity to choose a committee of diverse voices representing the entirety of Florida, she added. Among other applicants and nominees were a PTA board member from Palm Beach County, parent activists from Pinellas County and a book editor from Orange County. None were selected. The Freedom to Read Project leaders see the choices as a clear signal that "the powers are against us" and their views won't be considered, regardless of how many people they represent. They have noted online that very few parents across the state have opted out of allowing their children to have access to certain books, though that's a choice they have in law. The result is already being seen in districts across Florida, Ferrell said. She spoke of districts such as Escambia and Clay, where residents are bringing in long lists of book challenges, and officials are removing or restricting access to the titles without holding formal reviews in accordance with their own processes. Some districts, such as Palm Beach and Indian River, have created content checklists to determine whether books should remain, without considering context, she noted. She also mentioned stories of individual teachers purging their classroom libraries pre-emptively, to avoid facing the prospect of allegations that they're trying to indoctrinate children. It's a prospect that became more dire Wednesday after the State Board adopted a rule that would allow the Department of Education to strip the certification of teachers found to have violated new laws on instruction about gender and race. The group intends to continue its effort regardless. It will push school districts to follow their own rules on book challenges, Ferrell said, pointing out that counties including Pasco and Hillsborough have so far held firm. And it will call out violations wherever it sees them. "These are our First Amendment freedoms that are being infringed upon," Ferrell said. "Every time we let it happen ... it will happen again, and again." |
