DeSantis calls for end of ‘abuse’ of book challenges

The Florida governor signaled support for a legislative proposal that would fine residents who file frivolous book complaints.

Tampa Bay Times | By Ana Ceballos and Jeffrey S. Solochek | February 15, 2024

TALLAHASSEE — A year into Florida’s supercharged debate on book challenges, Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling on state lawmakers to take action against “bad actors” that he says are misinterpreting state laws for political gain.

“If people are abusing this process to try and muddy those waters then we have to have some reforms,” DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday in which he blamed activists who challenge too many books and school leaders who he claimed are “intentionally” withholding books.

The full details of the plan remain in the works. But DeSantis — who for years has made parental involvement in book challenges a key part of his political platform — said he is directing the Florida Department of Education to craft rules that will hold educators accountable if they go beyond what state law requires them to do. He also signaled support for a legislative proposal that would fine residents who file frivolous complaints.

“Let’s not let people try and hijack the process,” he said. “We don’t have time for your political agenda.”

The decision to crack down on what DeSantis called the politicization of book challenges comes as Florida has become a hot spot in the clash over what reading material is appropriate for children, with the help of a broad state law that made it easier for parents and residents to object to instructional materials and books in schools.

To comply with the law, school districts across the state have temporarily removed hundreds of books from shelves while they review them to ensure compliance with the state’s content standards.

At least 1,400 titles have been pulled from shelves in Florida public schools, more so than any other state during the past school year, according to data collected by the group PEN America between July 2022 and July 2023. Among the titles that have been removed from circulation in some grades are encyclopedias, dictionaries, Toni Morrison’s first book “The Bluest Eye,” and the poem The Hill We Climb, which was recited by poet Amanda Gorman at the Jan. 20, 2021, inauguration of President Joe Biden.

DeSantis did not assign blame on the vague laws that have driven many of the challenges.

Instead, he focused on people’s political motivations, suggesting that there is a larger effort by some on the left to “confuse the issue” and “obscure” inappropriate content that parents are concerned about in some sexually explicit titles.

The DeSantis administration this week also blamed educators and politics for a Miami policy that required parental approval before students participated in special Black History Month activities, like guest speaker presentations. While the school officials said their policy was meant to follow the state law, DeSantis and education commissioner Manny Diaz both called their interpretation “absurd.”

A growing problem acknowledged

Thursday was the first time DeSantis acknowledged criticisms about frivolous book challenges. But the issue has been ongoing for more than a year.

Last March, DeSantis held a news conference to debunk what he called a “book ban hoax.” At that event, he said that Florida was cracking down on books that aimed to “sexualize” students in violation of state standards, but made no mention of the role bad actors might be playing.

A few months later, in September, data showed that hundreds of book complaints were mostly coming from two people. In Clay County, one man filed challenges on hundreds of titles, with roughly half of them resulting in books being removed from shelves.

DeSantis alluded to individuals who have filed too many challenges but did not single out the man from Clay County. However, he did say he thinks the Legislature should fine individuals who file frivolous complaints.

Under a proposal moving in the Legislature, school districts would be able to fine individuals $100 for a book objection after they have unsuccessfully objected to at least five materials within the last calendar year. The district would reimburse the fine if the book challenge is upheld.

DeSantis also said he would like to limit book challenges from constituents who do not have children in school, but said he does not want to fully remove them from the process.

“You know, people that don’t have kids in schools, do pay taxes to support the school system so the citizens do have an interest in this,” DeSantis said.

Bruce Friedman, the Clay County parent who has challenged hundreds of books in his district, said via email that he did not consider himself part of the problem.

The DeSantis administration and the Florida Legislature failed to provide clear definitions of the many things that threaten the innocence of children in schools, Friedman said. He included the terms “age appropriate,” “reasonably prudent” and “err on the side of caution” among those.

“They think the fee will stop me. That’s funny,” he said. “What will stop me … is clear definitions that result in a community approved rubric and guideline that affects prior and future purchases, such that our libraries are rapidly purged of age inappropriate rubbish and improved.”

He said he has more than 5,000 books on his radar, which he lists on his website.

Book challenge law opponents weigh in

Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of Florida Freedom to Read Project, took issue with DeSantis’ narrative at the Thursday news conference.

Ferrell suggested DeSantis was himself engaging in political theater aimed at reshaping the debate about school books, without considering the role the Legislature and his office have played in getting to the current situation.

She said school districts and teachers that removed numerous books from their shelves did not do so to be political.

Rather, they faced new state law, as detailed in a Department of Education memo in October, that required all books with sexual conduct be reviewed for their appropriateness. They also had to look at all books in K-5 classrooms and catalog them online for public consumption.

“It’s just that the law requires them to go through a process,” she said. “That’s not being an activist. That’s following the law.”