Moms for Liberty objections lead Leon County Schools superintendent to pull five books
TALLAHASSEE — Following prodding from a local chapter of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna announced on Monday that five books would be removed from high school libraries.
"I reviewed them personally and they have been removed," he said at a Monday afternoon meeting. "Of these 468,000-plus books that we have in our current catalog, if we come across those we deem are in violation of state statute, we will remove them immediately... These are black-and-white, cut-and-dry, need-to-be removed."
It comes days after the Leon County chapter of Moms for Liberty sent an email to Hanna and the school board, saying the five books violated state law and subject district personnel to potential "felony prosecution" and litigation.
And the group said there are other "inappropriate" book it believes should be removed as well, recommending the school district be "proactive" and remove "land mines" of pornography.
Over the last year, Leon County had remained relatively unscathed from a rush of book challenges and removals in Florida precipitated by policies passed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative Republicans.
Only one book had been sent through the school district's formal book challenging process, "I am Billie Jean King," where it remains, with a decision expected later this summer. It is the district's only challenged book, as the five mentioned in the email weren't part of a formal process.
That's the rub for Stephana Ferrell, co-founder and director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project.
"The rest of the public has not been informed about these challenges and have not had the opportunity to speak up either in support or disagreement that the book should be removed, and that's the most disappointing piece," Ferrell said.
And Ferrell said pulling those five in that manner opens the floodgates, encouraging people to pressure for the same result for many more.
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Moms for Liberty chapter volunteers to screen school books
Gov. Ron DeSantis has maintained that the idea of books bans across Florida, which have made many headlines across the state and nation, is a "hoax." Conversely, he has bashed books that have been recently removed or restricted from public schools as pornographic, violent or otherwise inappropriate.
Those restrictions and removals have swelled in Florida since last year, the impetus largely attributable to legislation the governor has signed over the last two years.
DeSantis and legislative Republicans have restricted instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in schools. They've also regulated how school districts handle book challenges, prompting those challenges.
In raising concerns about the books, Moms for Liberty cited these new laws and others, such as a statute criminalizing distributing "harmful materials," including pornographic content, on school property.
"A full review of library materials should be undertaken to ensure that children are not exposed to harmful content in Leon County Schools," wrote Priscilla West, chair of Moms For Liberty – Leon County, in last week's email to the school board.
West volunteered herself and "other involved Leon County parents" to participate in a "materials review committee."
"Most challenges will be reactive in nature, i.e., they will be initiated by parents after their child has been exposed to the material in question," wrote West, who along with the organization didn't respond to media requests. "We recommend a more proactive stance, removing the 'land mines' of pornography from the paths of children and reducing the risk of litigation against the district."
In a string of Facebook posts on Monday, West's chapter criticized multiple other books not named in the email but found in various county high schools. The organization linked to passages including graphic descriptions of sex and violence. West's email also linked to such passages for the five books pulled off the shelves.
Those books:
- "Doomed" by Chuck Palahniuk, a fictional book following a 13-year-old who escaped hell to earth, where the character resides in a state of purgatory.
- "Dead End" by Jason Myer, a fictional book following two love-struck teenagers who flee their town after shooting and killing a rapist in self defense.
- "Lucky" by Alice Sebold, a memoir about how the author's life changed after she was raped at 18 years old.
- "Push" by Sapphire, a fictional book about a teenager who has two children and HIV from her father, who raped her. The award-winning book was made into an award-winning 2009 movie called "Precious."
- "Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews, a fictional book following a 17-year-old boy's relationship with a girl dying of leukemia.
Some of these books have been banned from other school libraries, too. The Escambia County District School Board, for example, has pulled "Lucky" and "Push" from its shelves, and "Me, Earl, and they Dying Girl" is currently being challenged.
The process (or lack thereof)
In an interview after the meeting, Hanna said the five pulled books had been donated to the school district and not been checked out for years.
Hanna said he made the decision to pull them in consultation with his staff, the district media specialist and legal counsel.
"If you find and come across a book you feel is in direct violation of Florida law, meets that threshold, then we will take a look at it immediately and won't have to go through the challenge process," he said. "If I disagree, however, with your interpretation... then I will ask you to fill out a formal challenge form, and we'll go through the process."
That process varies district by district. In Leon County, a parent complaint first heads to a school principal. If unresolved, the complaint goes up the chain of command to the superintendent. The superintendent will then meet with the parent. If they cannot agree on an outcome, it goes to an appointed third-party officer, who holds a hearing and gives a recommendation to school board members to vote on.
When asked about the Moms for Liberty Facebooks posts targeting additional books, Hanna called it "disingenuous" and "very disappointing."
"They come on Tuesday nights and want to partner and work together; that's not how you partner and work together," Hanna said. "Partnering and working together is sending me an email, the board members, [saying], 'Hey, guys, just wanted to give you a heads up. We've came across these books. You might want to look at them and see what you think or give us your opinions,' instead of going on social media without even having the courtesy to work through us, work through the process."
After this story published, the chapter posted a link to it on its Facebook page and applauded Hanna's decision.
"Thank you, Superintendent Hanna and the LCS Board for recognizing the true nature of these five books and taking prompt action to remove them from our schools," it wrote.
A 'dangerous precedent'
Ferrell from the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a nonprofit that opposes censorship in public schools, said the move created a "dangerous precedent."
"I can tell you from watching what has happened in many other districts, it's not going to stop with five books," Ferrell said "They're going to keep going."
A new law, she said, has especially added gasoline to the flames, creating a "very hostile environment for our media specialists, for our educators, and for our districts."
"To the point where we as parents are very concerned the next step is just deciding it's too expensive to maintain a library for our students," said Ferrell, who also questions whether many of the books removed from school libraries across the state actually violate the law.
House Bill 1069 took effect on July 1. The Moms for Liberty chapter sent its email days later. The law requires school districts to remove within five days any book challenged for including pornography or sexual conduct until the complaint is resolved.
It also allows parents who disagree with a school board's decision on a book challenge to a request a special magistrate from the state to review the decision, on the school district's dime.
While still under development by the state, Ferrell said the special magistrate decision "really changes the game" moving forward, encouraging groups to put pressure on school districts without actually filing challenges — and encouraging districts to cave to the pressure to avoid the challenge costs.
"If there was a large community interest to remove these books, then they would not be afraid of following the process to properly remove the books, to have the community consider it and speak up either for or against and make an informed decision," Ferrell said. "But, instead, our school leaders are being bullied into removing and limiting our students' First Amendment rights."
It's not just Ferrell who's been pushing back.
Last month, the authors of "And Tango Makes Three" filed a federal lawsuit against a Florida county and the state over restrictions on their children's book about two male penguins who raise a chick together.
Book bans and restrictions in another Florida county are being challenged in federal court by a free speech organization, PEN America, and the nation's largest publisher, Penguin Random House. Parents and authors are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which says Florida has become an epicenter for a nationwide book-banning trend.
"Books are being ordered removed from libraries, or subject to restricted access within those libraries, based on an ideologically driven campaign to push certain ideas out of schools," write the plaintiffs.
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Fla. He can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. Twitter: @DouglasSoule.