Over the weekend, the Florida Department of Education released a list of the books that landed on its removal list during the previous school year. It was nearly twice the size of the one from the 2022-2023 school year.
“A quick review suggests the devastating impact of the vague language and misleading state guidance on HB 1069 has had on our children’s opportunities to learn,” said a press release from the Florida Freedom to Read Project.
HB 1069, has also become known as “Don’t Say Gay” and is officially known as the Parental Rights in Education Bill. This legislation revised provisions relating to instruction and materials related to reproductive health, human sexuality and more. School districts were also required to have policies to challenge books in place by 2023, when the bill became effective.
Under state statute, every school district in Florida was required to report every objection to library and instructional materials filed during the 2023-2024 school year as of June 30. Per the Florida Freedom to Read Project, districts had to include specific details about the reasons for objection as well as a review status and to provide a basis for any reported final outcomes.
“Titles such as: ‘Nineteen Minutes’, ‘The Color Purple’, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, ‘The Freedom Writers Diary’, and ‘Wicked’ are no longer available for young people in multiple districts across Florida, though a majority of their parents want them to have full library access,” said the Freedom to Read Project.
Other titles on the list included “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher, “Gender Queer” Maia Kobabe, “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold, “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover, “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, “A Court of Wings and Ruin” Sarah J. Maas, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” Stephen Chbosky, “Speak” Laurie Halse Anderson, along with works by Chuck Palaniuk, Rupi Kapur, Judy Blume, George R. R. Martin, Flannery O’Connor, Maya Angelou and more.
While the list had 400 more titles that the previous list, according to Central Florida Public Media, the Freedom to Read Project said that it only represents some of the restriction on books across Florida school districts. That’s because district disclosure was inconsistent, the group explained.
“For example, take Okaloosa schools. The district has had a very long list of removed titles awaiting internal review on their website since fall 2023, yet they reported nothing (see their “None Removed or Discontinued” status on the state report),” it added.
Florida had the most banned books in the nation last year, with over 4,500 books banned in the Sunshine State, costing districts about $34,000 to $135,000 a year, according to a report from PEN America. Central Florida Public Media said that Volusia County School reported the most removals, with 40 banned books. Its list included “Slaughterhouse Five” and “Looking for Alaska” by John Green.
Already, “thousands of books were challenged in the state including books like the Bible, the dictionary and other classics,” according to Central Florida Public Media.
The Freedom to Read Project said the “timing of this year’s report is troubling,” and noted that the list was published later this year than last year. In 2013, the list came out in September and this year it came out after the Nov. 5 presidential election, which former President Donald Trump – a Republican who has made a promise to eliminate the federal Department of Education – won.
“Laws like HB 1069 empower the loudest voices in the state, not most parents or educational professionals,” said the Freedom to Read Project.
However, the Florida Department of Education had a different view.
“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,” it said in a statement cited by Central Florida Public Media.