Florida Schools Freeze Book Donations, Purchases In Wake Of Censoring Law
Source: HuffPost
Florida Schools Freeze Book Donations, Purchases In Wake Of Censoring Law
HB 1467, which went into effect July 1, requires school books to be pre-approved by state-certified media specialists who won't be trained until next year.
By Nina Golgowski
Aug 18, 2022, 08:00 AM EDT
Updated 3 hours ago
Book donations and purchases have been halted in at least one Florida school district for the remainder of 2022 in the wake of a new state law that requires books to be pre-approved by state-certified media specialists, who aren’t currently available.
The Sarasota Public School District, which enrolls nearly 45,000 students across 62 schools south of Tampa, instructed all principals last week to bar new books from school media centers and classroom libraries until at least January of next year, a district spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost.
The decision was based on H.B. 1467, which went into effect on July 1 after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the legislation in March.
The law requires a certified media specialist to inspect all public school material to ensure its appropriateness for children based on their age level and whether the material can be considered potentially harmful. It also requires elementary schools to publish online a list of the books and reading material they make available to students. Books can then be removed from schools if a parent or county resident petitions for their removal.
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Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/no-new-books-florida-school-hb-1467-desantis_n_62fbb474e4b071ea958a6367