Principals told to fix abuses in book challenges

State says onus is on school leaders for students to have access to ‘appropriate’ reading materials

TALLAHASSEE — Florida education officials decided Wednesday to put the onus on school principals to ensure students have access to “appropriate” reading materials in classrooms and libraries, saying it’s needed to prevent the politicization of the state’s book challenge process.

The decision comes two years into a surge of book objections in Florida public schools, and two months after Gov. Ron DeSantis directed his administration to take action against “bad actors” that he said have intentionally misinterpreted the state’s laws.

In response to that directive, the State Board of Education unanimously voted to punish school principals who direct school personnel to prevent students from accessing reading materials that have not been determined to be inappropriate by state law or a school district policy.

But if a parent or county resident follows the book challenge process as laid out in state law, and the district determines the material should be removed from a school library or classroom, the school principal would be allowed to prevent students from accessing the material, said K-12 Chancellor Paul Burns.

Burns said the rule is “clear and reinforces the expectation that school leaders should never arbitrarily deny students access to great reading materials.”

But Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association teachers union, told the board he is concerned about the intent of the rule.

“It seems to be moving blame onto administrators and people in our schools,” Spar said. “What we need, and what I have heard teachers ask for throughout the state… is clarity around the process as it relates to removing books from shelves.”

Florida law says that any material that is subject to an objection on the basis that it is pornographic or that it “depicts or describes sexual conduct” must be removed within five school days of the complaint being filed. The law also says that the material needs to stay unavailable to students until the objection is resolved.

The law also requires certified media specialists to approve all library books available to students.

After that law went into effect, state education officials told local school officials to “err on the side of caution” when selecting books for school libraries to comply with the law. Following the state-issued guidance, some teachers ended up covering up books in classrooms.

With the state rule in place, school principals could have their educator’s certificate suspended or revoked if they violate the new standards.