Broward school officials are resisting DeSantis and Florida state law by attempting to distribute “banned” materials to young children outside of school.
Non-age-appropriate material being made available in school has been a concern recently, including books with naked sketches and instructions on sex acts.
Book in Tampa Middle School Library Promotes Gay Sex and Hookup Apps
Paul Burns, deputy chancellor for educator quality at the Florida Department of Education, made a similar point at a state board meeting.
“We have seen time and time again questionable and inappropriate material that has entered our schools,”
Subscribe to Florida Jolt Newsletter!
In response, Florida officials have taken steps to stem the tide. According to The Sun Sentinel, online training for librarians and teachers specifies the requirements.
“Media specialists should always err on the side of caution when selecting materials. It is good practice to assess whether or not you, as an adult making book-selection decisions, would be comfortable reading aloud the material in question in a public meeting. If you would not be comfortable reading the material in a public setting, then you should lean toward not making the material available in a public school library for children.”
However, Broward school officials seem to have decided these standards are unreasonable. They would like to continue giving children access to the content they would not be comfortable reading in a public meeting.
The effort started with Broward county Democrats, encouraging teachers to make “banned” materials available outside class and point students toward them. The original tweet cast the new standards as “UnAmerican.” Notably, it did not specify which books were allegedly banned or why.
Black History is American History and banning books is UnAmerican. We won't watch silently as Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans try to erase and White Wash American History.
Join us in buying #BannedBooks for free distribution across Broward here: https://t.co/zEc4g8WhzN pic.twitter.com/XixaqIXEAD
— Broward Democratic Party (@browarddems) February 4, 2023
Since then, “The response has been overwhelming…” Chris Byrnes, outreach and organizing director at the Broward Democratic Party, said. “You never know what kind of response you’re going to get from something that starts on social media, but it’s just blown up.”
In the first week, over 400 books not conducive to Florida school standards have been ordered, with the intent to distribute to children.
According to The Sun Sentinel, The Broward Democrats’ list of desired book titles has 71 titles. Some books on the list include classics like “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which hasn’t been banned and is encouraged reading material for eighth graders. Moms for Libraries have also challenged the “Kite Runner” and “The Bluest Eye” due to having graphic, explicit rape scenes.
However, buried in the Democrat’s list of non-issues and controversial but meritorious titles are buried more political requests. Titles include “This Book is Gay,” which has already been at issue due to sexually explicit content, claims about sexual morality, and instructions regarding sex acts and even dating apps. Anna Fusco, president of the Broward Teachers Union, still insisted to the Sentinel that there isn’t any sexualization of children in the schools.
GRAPHIC: Middle school in @AlachuaSchools offers the pornographic book "This Book Is Gay" to students.
The book teaches kids about gay sex and encourages the use of sex apps.
This is what they're giving 12-year-olds to read in school. pic.twitter.com/PvTe114aZ0
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 15, 2023
On Jan. 29, Corie Pinero, chair of the Moms for Libraries Broward committee — an affiliate of the conservative Moms for Liberty group — emailed the county with requests to remove inappropriate content.
“…we want to move forward with removing these books from BCPS libraries county wide. It is our goal to have age appropriate, non sexually explicit and educational library media in our schools only by the end of this year.”
Moms for Libraries even offered Moms for Libraries, offered to donate different books as replacements that “contain age-appropriate content, academic literature and are inspiring for young minds,” the Sentinel reported.
Broward schools’ answer to the offer is a resounding no, with many implying that those concerned with age-appropriate content or potential political influence are homophobic or close-minded. And, in that spirit, the program continues the effort apace to avoid state regulations in distributing their preferred content to children.
Other stories you may want to read:
Constitutional Carry Passes First Hurdle in Florida-‘Citizens Have a Right to Protect Themselves’
