Department of Education reports near double increase in library book removals
Florida Phoenix | By Jay Waagmeester | November 12, 2024
During the 2023-2024 school year, Florida schools removed nearly twice as many books than the year before following challenges from parents and community members.
Schools removed 732 titles during the 2023-2024 school year, on top of 386 removed the year before.
Twenty-three districts contributed to the list, with Clay, Indian River, and Volusia counties making up significant portions.
The removals stem from state laws requiring school boards to adopt protocols for screening books deemed to be pornographic or contain sexual content.
Florida book removals have been the subject of lawsuits claiming censorship and limiting freedom of expression.
“There are no books banned in Florida, and sexually explicit materials do not belong in schools,” Florida Department of Education Communications Director Sydney Booker said in an email to the Phoenix. She added that of the more than 700 books on the list, some of the same titles have been counted in multiple districts.
The number of book challenges may have been too high in the eyes of legislators.
A law passed earlier this year, after the reporting period for the above data, could lower the number of challenges in the years to come. HB 1285 limits nonparents living in a school district to one book challenge per month.
PEN America report
Less than two weeks ago, PEN America released its tally of books that had been removed from Florida school libraries during the 2023-2024 school year.
By PEN America’s count, schools removed about 4,500 books from Florida libraries. The methodology between the freedom of expression advocacy organization and the state differs, though.
PEN’s list includes books temporarily removed while awaiting a final decision from the school board, and administrative removals, another method to take books off shelves.
The state’s count includes only books removed by school boards and does not include books removed pending challenges.
By PEN’s tally, Florida removed more books than any other state during the previous school year.
One lawsuit filed by major book publishers and several authors of removed books argues state definitions of “pornographic” and “describes sexual content” are unconstitutional and have resulted in censorship.
The publishers argue that “vagueness and ambiguity result in overbroad interpretations of [the law’s] prohibition on content that describes sexual conduct and chill protected speech.”
The Florida Department of Education stands by the limitations put on school libraries.
“Once again, far left activists are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians,” Booker said. “The better question is why do these activists continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit materials.”
