Nov. 13 (UPI) — More than 700 books were removed from Florida school library shelves for the 2023-24 school year, according to the state Department of Education.
The total is nearly two times the 400 books removed from Florida schools in the prior school year.
The state Department of Education claims the books taken off school library shelves by complaints from a parent, a student or county residents are not book bans.
“There are no books banned in Florida and sexually explicit materials do not belong in schools,” the Florida Department of Education said in a statement cited by local outlet WUWF. “Once again, far left activist groups are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians.”
According to Florida Freedom to Read’s Stephana Ferrell, the practice does indeed amount to a ban and the list of banned books in Florida schools is growing.
“And right now, what’s happening is one or two loud people in a particular district can dictate for all what is available, and it runs against, again, what a majority of parents are telling their school districts they want,” Ferrell said.
She added that among the many books removed from Florida schools are classic literature and literature regularly used in advanced placement exams that prepare students for college-level coursework.
Publishers, authors and Florida school district residents have filed suit against the book bans, alleging First Amendment violations caused by what they call “a regime of strict censorship” in schools.
Removals vary by school district with some districts not pulling any from the shelves while some saw more than 100 removed.
Books that were removed from shelves in various Florida districts include Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, 1984 the Graphic Novel by George Orwell/Adapted by Fido Nesti and the graphic adaptation of Anne Frank’s Diary by Ari Folman.
The removed books also include Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Sophie’s Choice by William Styron and Toni Morrison’s Song of Soloman.
Among the books banned in Florida schools is The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead and several titles by Stephen King.
According to PEN America, 10,046 books were banned from schools across the United States for the 2023-24 academic year.
PEN America says book ban efforts have also targeted public libraries as those who want to ban the books have tried to use municipal governments and statehouses to limit what Americans can read.
“Taken all together, this is hardly a narrow effort to constrain access to books by young people; it’s an effort to impose ideological control on the bounds of culture,” said Jonathan Friedman, Director of PEN America’s U.S. Free Expression Program.”
