What does this article say about how books are being treated in Florida schools?

This is the state that warned librarians to “err on the side of caution” when choosing books, or risk being charged with a third-degree felony for exposing kids to materials that run afoul of vague laws on what’s appropriate. It’s also the state where inappropriate or sexual material is more times than not flagged in books by LGBTQ and Black authors, held up by conservative activists as examples of perversion in our schools. Florida is the state that bans teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in all grades and limits how they can talk about race. It’s got a Legislature that made it more onerous for districts to approve and review books. Where schools preemptively asked teachers to remove books from their classrooms until they conducted that review process.
Let’s keep in mind that this year the Florida Legislature passed a bill that allows any person in a county to challenge a book and force a district to pull it out of circulation until it goes through a review. If a parent disagrees with a district’s ruling on that challenge, they can appeal to the governor-appointed commissioner of education, who will most likely be all ears. No wonder a parent convinced a North Florida district to remove a novel about school segregation called “Little Rock Nine” — based on real events in U.S. history — from elementary schools even though it is at a third-grade reading level. Who needs book burnings when fear creates its own chilling effect? Who needs government censors when you have groups like Moms for Liberty skimming books to look for any hint of sexual content, no matter its literary value and appropriateness for upper grades, content that makes white people uncomfortable or so-called leftist indoctrination?

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What does this article say about how books are being treated in Florida schools?

This is the state that warned librarians to “err on the side of caution” when choosing books, or risk being charged with a third-degree felony for exposing kids to materials that run afoul of vague laws on what’s appropriate. It’s also the state where inappropriate or sexual material is more times than not flagged in books by LGBTQ and Black authors, held up by conservative activists as examples of perversion in our schools. Florida is the state that bans teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in all grades and limits how they can talk about race. It’s got a Legislature that made it more onerous for districts to approve and review books. Where schools preemptively asked teachers to remove books from their classrooms until they conducted that review process.
Let’s keep in mind that this year the Florida Legislature passed a bill that allows any person in a county to challenge a book and force a district to pull it out of circulation until it goes through a review. If a parent disagrees with a district’s ruling on that challenge, they can appeal to the governor-appointed commissioner of education, who will most likely be all ears. No wonder a parent convinced a North Florida district to remove a novel about school segregation called “Little Rock Nine” — based on real events in U.S. history — from elementary schools even though it is at a third-grade reading level. Who needs book burnings when fear creates its own chilling effect? Who needs government censors when you have groups like Moms for Liberty skimming books to look for any hint of sexual content, no matter its literary value and appropriateness for upper grades, content that makes white people uncomfortable or so-called leftist indoctrination?

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Florida has recently passed multiple bills dealing with what books can be kept in schools. Teachers can be charged with a felony if they are deemed to have exposed kids to books the state says are inappropriate. Books by Black and LGBTQ writers are more often targeted as being inappropriate. Schools asked teachers to remove all books from their classrooms until they could be approved. Even books that have been previously approved can be challenged by anyone in a county and will be removed until they have been reviewed.  Then the decision can be appealed to a commissioner appointed by the governor if they disagree with the ruling.
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What does this article say about how books are being treated in Florida schools?

This is the state that warned librarians to “err on the side of caution” when choosing books, or risk being charged with a third-degree felony for exposing kids to materials that run afoul of vague laws on what’s appropriate. It’s also the state where inappropriate or sexual material is more times than not flagged in books by LGBTQ and Black authors, held up by conservative activists as examples of perversion in our schools. Florida is the state that bans teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in all grades and limits how they can talk about race. It’s got a Legislature that made it more onerous for districts to approve and review books. Where schools preemptively asked teachers to remove books from their classrooms until they conducted that review process.
Let’s keep in mind that this year the Florida Legislature passed a bill that allows any person in a county to challenge a book and force a district to pull it out of circulation until it goes through a review. If a parent disagrees with a district’s ruling on that challenge, they can appeal to the governor-appointed commissioner of education, who will most likely be all ears. No wonder a parent convinced a North Florida district to remove a novel about school segregation called “Little Rock Nine” — based on real events in U.S. history — from elementary schools even though it is at a third-grade reading level. Who needs book burnings when fear creates its own chilling effect? Who needs government censors when you have groups like Moms for Liberty skimming books to look for any hint of sexual content, no matter its literary value and appropriateness for upper grades, content that makes white people uncomfortable or so-called leftist indoctrination?
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Florida has recently passed multiple bills dealing with what books can be kept in schools. Teachers can be charged with a felony if they are deemed to have exposed kids to books the state says are inappropriate. Books by Black and LGBTQ writers are more often targeted as being inappropriate. Schools asked teachers to remove all books from their classrooms until they could be approved. Even books that have been previously approved can be challenged by anyone in a county and will be removed until they have been reviewed.  Then the decision can be appealed to a commissioner appointed by the governor if they disagree with the ruling.</s>
