Open Letter to the Florida Senate

Dear Florida Legislators,

We are public school parents in the districts you have been elected to represent. We proudly send our children to public school because we know that our schools are filled with loving teachers, staff, and administrators who want the best for our children. And, every week, we spend hours upon hours tracking censorship in our public schools here in Florida. Since 2021 we have witnessed the ways in which this state’s leadership has fostered an environment of restrictions, prohibitions, and book bans. We have been appalled by the outright denial of what is happening in our schools since the passing of your 2022 education legislation. We will not stop because as parents we are THAT concerned; and, thanks to your legislation of years past, we know we have rights too when it comes to our children.

The House majority passed HB1069, and in doing so passed legislation that seeks to further undermine the rights of thousands of parents in this state. The bill also expands Florida’s existing mechanisms for challenging books. It provides that content that “depicts or describes sexual conduct” is a valid reason for challenge. And HB 1069 mandates that all challenged books be removed from shelves immediately pending review – that is, they would be banned as soon as they were challenged.

We heard all sorts of lies in defense of this bill on the House floor. Most concerning was the outright dismissal of evidence showing how school districts are banning books and censoring content since the passing of your 2022 education legislation. 

This language in HB1069 and its sister legislation SB1320 will deny our students’ freedom of expression. This legislation will weaken the privacy rights we must protect for our children. This legislation will discriminately limit the parental rights of some to direct the upbringing of their child for unjust reasons. This legislation will continue to encourage viewpoint censorship and limit access to information about reproduction and sexual health outside of the state-approved curriculum. This legislation will block parents from partnering with teachers to bring in useful resources to encourage their child’s literacy development. 

Let’s set one thing straight before we continue: when you remove a book from a school or district, you have banned access to that book for students in that school or district. And, when you remove a book taking the position that it is “harmful to minors” and a violation of Florida criminal statute 847.012 - as many, many districts have egregiously done to “err on the side of caution” - you are stating without clear justification that it is unlawful to make the book available to a minor in a school, public library, retail store, or online (calling for a complete ban on the book). 

The House debate over HB1069 included inaccuracies regarding the number of book bans - yes, bans - in this state. At the Governor's March press conference, he said book bans aren't happening. That's a myth, we know they are, we have evidence that they are. Since that press conference, over the last month alone, there have been more than 75 books permanently banned from schools. Many districts publicly post their current challenges and removals on their websites including St. Johns, which is now at 30 removals, not 19 removals like Representative Fine stated on the House floor. 

It’s truly insulting for you all to continue this narrative that the only books being removed from our schools are books that contain pornographic content. 

Do you really believe that we would send our children there every day if we believed for one second that someone would expose them to pornography?  Do you think we will believe you over our own children that come home with handfuls of books taken out of circulation by teachers that are depleting their shelves thanks to your burdensome and punitive laws and FLDOE rules? 

We can differ on how we raise our own children, but we take very seriously the part of the pledge to protect Liberty and Justice for ALL. These laws you're passing do not do that, and the proof is out there in the constant headlines you’re all forced to spin and deflect on a weekly basis. 

You are empowering a minority of citizens, some without students currently enrolled, to restrict and remove books for our students.

The parents you are writing these vague laws for called the statue David “pornographic”. They suggested the nondescript nudity of Eric Carle’s Adam and Eve in Draw Me A Star is not “age appropriate”. They demanded library books that are available for self-selection - not classroom instruction - conform to the K-3 limitations in HB1557. And you know from the headlines that far too many districts caved to their concerns. 

They called books like Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome “revisionist history” and Yuyi Morales’ Dreamers lacking education on “illegal immigration’s impact on citizenry.” Publishers, afraid of being declared “woke” and losing out on millions in textbook contracts, removed important context from our history of Segregation because the guidance wasn’t clear. Is the topic of discrimination based on skin color appropriate for a K-5 audience? Well, the school district in Pinellas recently proved how difficult that question is to answer since the Stop W.O.K.E. Act was signed into law. When the Disney film Ruby Bridges came under challenge, the initial reaction from the area superintendent was to pull it from K-5 access even after 58 of 60 parents gave their permission to have their children watch the film during Black History Month. After much pushback, the District proceeded to a school level review of the film where a committee unanimously decided to bring the film back into the supplementary materials for second grade. Ultimately, the process worked here, but a frivolous review based on a viewpoint objection took time, money, and attention away from our students. It also added animosity within the community. It’s completely unnecessary when concerned parents already have a method to restrict their own child from accessing the material.

Books featuring the stories of historically marginalized communities have been challenged, removed, restricted, diminished, held for months off shelves, and ultimately rejected in our districts. These aren’t stories created for sexual excitement and arousal. These are stories about our shared history, famous individuals, families that look like ours, experiences and hardships that mirror what our children have been through or may go through. 

The most influential works throughout history usually are remembered because they make you feel something unexpected. They move you or center you. They transport you to a place you otherwise would never experience, and many times from a lens unlike your own. 

Your 2022 laws are already denying our children far too much, and it’s a reality you cannot hide from us because we are living it. HB1069 will make that worse. You’re either being willfully cruel or ignorantly cruel, but cruel nonetheless. In the words of banned author Phil Bildner, “don’t let cruelty be your legacy.”

Please protect education for all our children and stop this legislation from becoming law. The future of Florida deserves better than this.

Sincerely,

Florida Freedom to Read Project