成人抖阴

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Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that he will sign legislation restricting challenges to books in public schools, blaming 鈥渁ctivist鈥� teachers and others of making a 鈥渕ockery鈥� of his parental rights legislation by filing frivolous challenges.

The 2021 Parental Rights in Education Act, sometimes referred to as 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay,鈥� allows parents the opportunity to review, and potentially object to, school library books that they find 鈥渋nappropriate,鈥� with the goal of removing questionable material from school libraries, even if other families are OK with the content.

Especially targeted was LGBTQ content.

What followed were wholesale challenges to books and other material, requiring their removal from libraries and classrooms pending sometimes protracted reviews of their suitability.

Legislation passed during this year鈥檚 legislative session () allows only one challenge per month unless the challenge comes from the parent or guardian of a child in a public school.

鈥淚t is done intentionally, and it is part of an agenda, and that鈥檚 wrong,鈥� DeSantis said during a news conference.

鈥淚 mean, schools are there to serve a community. Schools are not there for you to try to go on some ideological joyride at the expense of our kids,鈥� he said.

The Legislature hasn鈥檛 sent the bill to DeSantis yet, but he said that he will sign it once that happens.

DeSantis appeared at Warrington Preparatory Academy, a charter school that opened last year at the site of a consistently poorly performing public school.

The bill is an omnibus pertaining to state education policy. The governor highlighted the book challenge changes plus language that expedites charter conversions, requiring districts to allow charter operators access to the facilities to devise a turnaround plan. Districts couldn鈥檛 remove resources or charge rent and would have to maintain the building. Children in the public-school zone would be first in line for charter school admission.

鈥楾he Bluest Eye鈥�

House member Jennifer Canady, a Republican from Polk County, mentioned a new bar on placing students in dropout prevention programs 鈥渟olely because of a disability.鈥� Students who are placed in those programs would be entitled to individualized goals 鈥渟o we are focused on what they need to do in order to be successful,鈥� she said.

鈥淭his bill is going to require that we treat students as the individuals that they are and make sure that they are in the best learning environment for them,鈥� Canady added.

As for book challenges, in 2022 set up a more orderly system for them, including review by the Florida Department of Education.

Still, books and sheltered from access by kids have included bestsellers including 鈥淭he Kite Runner鈥� and 鈥淭he Bluest Eye,鈥� the latter by the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner Toni Morrison, plus 鈥淎ll Boys Aren鈥檛 Blue鈥� by George M. Johnson about growing up Black and queer.

In Jacksonville, books about , which are on the state鈥檚 recommended list, were unavailable to students for months pending reviews.

During the 2022-2023 school year, recorded 1,406 book ban cases in Florida, which accounted for 40% of the national total. That organization the Escambia County School District over its banning policies.

DeSantis insisted he is only after books that aren鈥檛 鈥渁ge and developmentally appropriate.鈥�

鈥淵ou should not be having books in these schools, particularly in younger grades, that are sexually explicit, that are promoting ideology like gender ideology. We don鈥檛 believe you teach a kindergartener that they can change their gender 鈥� that鈥檚 just not appropriate, that鈥檚 not what parents want to be taught in our schools,鈥� he said Monday.

Litigation

PEN America and the Florida Education Association, representing classroom teachers, have complained that the laws are so vague that they invited districts to overly restrict access to material. The state laws don鈥檛 directly threaten felony charges for violations, but the Duval County district that that could happen if they expose children to material deemed pornographic.

To DeSantis, such concerns are 鈥減erformative; that鈥檚 political. You鈥檙e trying to be an activist when you should be trying to be an educator.鈥�

He did concede: 鈥淚t鈥檚 from all ends of the political spectrum 鈥� I mean, there鈥檚 some people that really think all these books that have been in school are inappropriate; there鈥檚 other people that know that they鈥檙e appropriate but are trying to act like Florida does not want these books in.鈥�

Overall, 鈥渋t鈥檚 being done to create a narrative that somehow, oh my gosh, all these books are, quote, banned. No book is banned in Florida. The most grotesque pornographic books that are in schools that have been removed because they鈥檙e inappropriate, you can go buy it in a bookstore if that鈥檚 what floats your boat, you鈥檙e able to do that. But do not jam that down the throat of a sixth-grade child,鈥� the governor said.

鈥溾��Just as it鈥檚 wrong for a school district, an activist teacher, a school union to try to impose an agenda on a student, it鈥檚 also wrong for a citizen activist or parent to do these passive-aggressive false challenges to try to act like somehow we don鈥檛 want education in Florida,鈥� he said.

鈥淚f you are trying to be an activist, if you鈥檙e trying to withdraw valid materials as a way to basically lodge a protest, you鈥檙e going to be held accountable for that, because you鈥檙e depriving the students of their right to be able to have a good education.鈥�

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