Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to falsely claim that book banning in Florida is a hoax. Yet in 2023, Florida led the nation with 1,406 books banned in schools, surpassing Texas as the number one book banning state in the nation, according to PEN America. From July 2022 to June 2023, an astonishing 40% of all book bans in the nation happened in Florida. Under Gov. DeSantis, banning books has become rampant and now, with public pressure mounting, he’s trying to pass the buck.
Florida is experiencing the worst school staff vacancy crisis in history. Teachers and librarians have cited anxiety, harassment, and even death threats amidst the culture wars the governor has stoked. Now, DeSantis wants the State Board of Education to implement a proposal designed to falsely place the blame on school principals while doing nothing to address the anti-freedom to learn laws he has supported and implemented.
The proposed SBE rule would make it unlawful for a principal to prevent a student from accessing educational materials “without legal cause” for the restriction. But Gov. DeSantis is the party most responsible for providing “legal cause” since he signed the book ban legislation into law. This is an instance of the governor wanting to appear as if he’s pushing back against book bans, when in fact, all he’s doing is shifting the blame to school principals.
Don’t be fooled: DeSantis is still on a crusade to ban books from Florida classrooms. He and his thought police have banned hundreds of titles, forced teachers to dismantle classroom libraries or potentially face felony prosecutions, and sowed chaos and confusion in schools across the state. The rule under consideration by the State Board of Education will only add to the turmoil by placing school principals in a no-win situation.
Thank you for taking action to hold Gov. DeSantis accountable for his anti-First Amendment attacks that are taking away students’ freedom to learn.