Author: Sarah Hoffman

Which state legislators put people ahead of powerful special interests and which did not? Find out at FloridaReportCard.com

Since we first sounded the alarm on Gov. DeSantis’ escalating crusade to ban books, even more beloved titles have been challenged in school districts across Florida, prompting the authors themselves to take notice and speak out.

Just two months after the launch of the historic effort to get abortion on the ballot in 2024, the Floridians Protecting Freedom campaign has officially passed the half a million mark for petitions collected!

Florida is now second only to Texas in the number of books removed from public school libraries and classrooms. How did we become a national leader in censorship and restricting students’ freedom to learn? Gov. DeSantis promoted and signed new laws in the last two legislative sessions that started Florida’s current and continuing cascade of book bans.

A majority of Floridians support the freedom to make our own personal health care decisions without interference from politicians. Despite widespread support for reproductive freedom, Florida’s legislative leaders voted to further restrict abortion care. 

In the recently concluded state legislative session, the leadership of the Florida Legislature once again worked to fulfill the wish list of Florida’s largest polluters. One of the most harmful items they passed takes aim at local ordinances designed to protect our rivers, lakes, and bays from devastating fertilizer runoff pollution. 

Florida is on pace to be #1 in the nation for banned books in schools, the result of new, anti-freedom laws enacted by Gov. DeSantis. The new laws empower censorship by ideological extremists.

Following one of the most grueling legislative sessions in Florida history, new statewide polling conducted by Progress Florida and Florida Watch, collectively known as the Florida Communications and Research Hub (Hub), shows that Floridians are dissatisfied with the agenda carried out by Governor Ron DeSantis and legislators in Tallahassee.

In Clay County, 55 more books are now banned in all schools based on proposed and existing laws supported by Gov. DeSantis. Free speech experts say FL is on pace to be #1 in the country for book bans.

To be clear, abortion is still legal up to 15 weeks in Florida. The six-week abortion ban, passed by the state Legislature and signed by Ron DeSantis in April, has not gone into effect yet, so if you or someone you know has an appointment, keep it.