Students will read excerpts from the playwright's popular works
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Schools in Hillsborough County, Florida, are cutting back on Shakespeare in the classroom, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
"It was also in consideration of the law," Tanya Arja, a spokeswoman for the district said, per the report from Monday.
More specifically, the district's plan addresses concerns over state law cracking down on sexual content in public schools. Instead of reading entire works, students will read excerpts from class works like "MacBeth," "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet."
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Portrait of famous English playwright William Shakespeare. ( Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)
Joseph Cool, a reading teacher at Gaither High School in Hillsborough County, cited the "raunchiness" in the legendary playwright's works as cause for concern, adding, "that’s what sold tickets during his time," the Times said.
By cutting back on entire works – and thereby avoiding instruction with these "raunchier" bits – schools hope to avoid any entanglements with the state's Parental Rights in Education law, signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, last year.
The law, initially reserved for lower grades, later expanded to grades K-12. It was coined by critics as "Don't Say Gay," as the contentious measure removed discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation in public school classrooms across The Sunshine State and required instruction to be "age appropriate."
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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law last year. The law has since been expanded to all grades in public schools across the state. (AP)
DeSantis and other state Republicans dismissed the notion, arguing the law's intentions were misrepresented.
Exceptions to crackdowns on sexual content are permitted for health lessons.
Embroiled in controversy, the law sparked districts to pull potentially inappropriate, law-violating materials from curriculum, including books with LGBTQ+ themes or sexually mature content.
The Tampa Bay Times said the Parental Rights law's restrictions led the district to go back on its previous standard that required students to read two entire novels or plays - one in the fall and one in the spring - and instead opt for a new standard of reading one entire work along with multiple excerpts from others.
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A Florida school district will opt to assign excerpts from Shakespeare's plays to students instead of asking them to read the full works, citing state law cracking down on sexual content in the classroom. (iStock)
The report also said students can access the entire works with the help of parents, though teachers are instructed to steer clear of potentially inappropriate material at school.
Fox News Digital reached out to Arja for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
Florida remains under the media's lens for a slew of other education topics, including the state's contention with the College Board over an AP African-American Studies course and attacks against DeSantis for allegedly "banning books."
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Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
