The Escambia County School District's book bans are being called "unconstitutional" in a federal lawsuit filed by a leading free speech organization and the country's largest publishing firm.
In recent years, conservative politicians around the country have championed bans on books or instruction that touch on race and inclusion. Books were banned in more than 5,000 schools in 32 states from June 2021 to June 2022, according to free-speech nonprofit PEN America.
For nearly two years now, libraries in K12 and higher education have become a primary target for parent advocacy groups that seek to remove book titles that contain material not suitable for children and students.
Gender identity, sexual orientation and other LGTBQ instruction have been pushed out of Florida classrooms as the state's board of education extends controversial "Don't Say Gay" rule through 12th grade.
Unsurprisingly, the political makeup of a district directly influences which books are in their schools' libraries. What we're unsure of, according to one expert, is whether such censorship will have a long-lasting impact on students.
A citizen's challenge was so urgent that a special meeting of the Escambia County school board was held this week to consider removing a trio of books from the district's libraries and classrooms.
Superintendent Steven Connolly of MSAD 75 in Maine is stepping down, citing "divisions that exist based on political, personal, and ideological beliefs."
A proposal in Indiana would banish instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from all classrooms, kindergarten through 12th grade, while Iowa lawmakers aim to eliminate the topics through eighth grade.
Many of the picture books yanked from school shelves tell the true stories of civil rights or LGBTQ experiences while some are simply "lighthearted fiction about animals or babies."
