Book Bans Etc.!

[phkrause]

Florida district pulls many Jewish and Holocaust books, including Saul Bellow’s ‘Herzog’ and ‘Black, White and Jewish’

(JTA) – A global bestseller by a Jewish Holocaust victim; a novel by a beloved and politically conservative Jewish American writer; a memoir of growing up mixed-race and Jewish; and a contemporary novel about a high-achieving Jewish family are among the nearly 700 books a Florida school district removed from classroom libraries this year in fear of violating state laws on sexual content in schools.

https://www.jta.org/2023/12/21/united-states/florida-district-pulls-many-jewish-and-holocaust-books-including-saul-bellows-herzog-and-black-white-and-jewish?

[phkrause]

Book ban lawsuit moves forward as Florida district removes over 1,000 titles

A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging book bans in Escambia County, Florida, can move forward on the same day the county released an updated list of more than 2,800 individual books that have been pulled from shelves for review.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/book-ban-lawsuit-moves-forward-florida-district-removes/story?

[phkrause]

Court upholds block on Texas law requiring school book vendors to provide sexual content ratings

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An order blocking the enforcement of a Texas law requiring vendors to evaluate and rate the sexual content of books they sell, or have sold, to schools has been upheld by a federal appeals court.

https://apnews.com/article/texas-book-ban-lawsuit-sexual-content-44df3eb9f0753e7dc394ae2635580d3f?

[phkrause]

Florida rejects books on voting, Tuskegee airmen for museum’s storytime

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s Department of State tossed out the entire slate of books recommended by the civil-rights Grove Museum for the first six months of its 2024 monthly storytime program for young children, including books on voting rights and Black history.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/01/23/florida-rejects-books-on-voting-tuskegee-airmen-for-museums-storytime/?

ps:Wow, just wow! What is the matter with people??

[phkrause]

DeSantis again calls book banning a ‘hoax’ but wants laws tweaked

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday again lashed out against what he calls the “big hoax” that Florida leaders ban books, saying his administration only wants to remove pornographic material from school shelves not “classic books.”

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/02/15/desantis-again-calls-book-banning-a-hoax-but-wants-laws-tweaked/?

DeSantis whines about ‘Book ban hoax’ chaos he created | Commentary

Florida’s governor pitched a confusing tantrum in Orlando last week.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/02/21/desantis-book-ban-hoax-maxwell/?

[phkrause]

Senate President: Parents, others, ‘overdid it’ on book challenges; wants to reign in objections

Florida lawmakers are looking to curtail the number of book challenges in Florida’s public schools. While a final decision hasn’t been made, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said Wednesday she supported the efforts to reign in the objections.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/02/28/senate-president-parents-others-overdid-it-on-book-challenges-wants-to-reign-in-objections/?

[phkrause]

Librarians fear new penalties, even prison, as activists challenge books

When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel would help it reach teens who struggle with words alone.

https://apnews.com/article/book-bans-libraries-lawsuits-fines-prison-0914fa6cbb2a99b540cbbd28a38179b4?

[phkrause]

DeSantis tweaks Florida book challenge law, blames liberal activist who wanted Bible out of schools

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Two years ago, Democrats repeatedly and forcefully warned Republicans and Gov. Ron DeSantis that a new law making it easier to challenge school books was so broadly worded that it would create havoc across the state.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-ron-desantis-education-book-bans-65daf4420318a837487976c10bb75d86?

[phkrause]

Flori-duh: ‘Florida school board bans book about book bans’ | Commentary

The headline that made its way around the world last week looked like a joke:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/06/14/florida-book-bans-scott-maxwell/?

[phkrause]

Groups ask for return of banned books to Florida school library shelves

TALLAHASSEE — In a key battleground in the larger debate about removing and restricting school books, plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Escambia County School Board asked a federal judge this week to order officials to return to the shelves seven titles that have been off-limits for over a year.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/07/04/groups-ask-for-return-of-banned-books-to-florida-school-library-shelves/?

[phkrause]

Educators, others criticize book bans and ‘dark night of censorship’ in letter to DeSantis

More than 500 people, including educators, parents and best-selling author Jodi Picoult, signed a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticizing state laws that led to a “dark night of censorship” in the state.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/08/01/educators-others-criticize-book-bans-and-dark-night-of-censorship-in-letter-to-desantis/?

[phkrause]

Right-wing obsession with book bans has nothing to do with sex or religion

Finally, we have hit a topic of public discussion which I can say, modestly, I am an expert. The issue, which arises out of our governor’s attempt to dictate what books can be contained in a school library, gives rise to the need for my expertise.

https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/08/13/right-wing-obsession-with-book-bans-has-nothing-to-do-with-sex-or-religion/?

[phkrause]

Major publishers sue Florida over ‘unconstitutional’ book ban law

A coalition of the nation’s largest book publishers filed a lawsuit Thursday against Florida education officials alleging that a 2023 Florida law that increased scrutiny of school library books unconstitutionally limits free speech.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/08/29/major-publishers-sue-florida-over-unconstitutional-book-ban-law-2/

[phkrause]

Florida school district must restore books with LGBTQ+ content under settlement

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A school district in northeast Florida must put back in libraries three dozen books as part of a settlement reached Thursday with students and parents who sued over what they said was an unlawful decision to limit access to dozens of titles containing LGBTQ+ content.

https://apnews.com/article/florida-banned-books-lgbtq-publishing-81a54f4d50d42f6c84bc8fe7da9a4335?

[phkrause]

Florida again leads U.S. in book bans, new report finds

The Sunshine State led the nation in school book bans for the 2023-24 academic year, according to a new report released Friday.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/11/01/florida-again-leads-u-s-in-book-bans-new-report-finds/?

[phkrause]

Librarians gain protections in some states as book bans soar

Karen Grant and fellow school librarians throughout New Jersey have heard an increasingly loud chorus of parents and conservative activists demanding that certain books — often about race, gender, and sexuality — be removed from the shelves.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/01/08/librarians-gain-protections-in-some-states-as-book-bans-soar/?

[phkrause]

Commentary: Florida’s school library book bans are back, and as unethical as ever

The DeSantis regime continues its attack on the legitimate rights of citizens, parents and children. All of this in the name of protection the state is not responsible for. Not one elected official should tell parents what their children cannot read, nor limit all parental rights in order to coddle political supporters. Schools should be a bastion for education, not a space to increase the disastrous political divide.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/16/floridas-school-library-book-bans-are-back-and-as-unethical-as-ever-opinion/?

[phkrause]

Book bans reflect conservatives’ fear of a changing world

OK, the observance is in October, but it’s always Banned Books Week in Florida. Every day seems to bring another hissy fit from a state goon or “concerned” parent hell-bent on returning us to the glory days of censorship.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/25/book-bans-reflect-conservatives-fear-of-a-changing-world/?

[phkrause]

Book bans reflect conservatives’ fear of a changing world

It’s Banned Books Week in Florida!

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/25/book-bans-reflect-conservatives-fear-of-a-changing-world/?

ps:Not sure I agree!!

[phkrause]

Stephen King is the most banned author in US schools, PEN report says

NEW YORK (AP) — A new report on book bans in U.S. schools finds Stephen King as the author most likely to be censored and the country divided between states actively restricting works and those attempting to limit or eliminate bans.

https://apnews.com/article/stephen-king-pen-america-book-bans-6e55e4b48e0f1b6c2addc02e9baeaf79?

Schools, parents removed fewer books last year, reports find

Both the Florida Department of Education and PEN America, a nonprofit advocating for freedom of expression, have released their annual lists of books removed from school classrooms and libraries, each reporting fewer removals than last year.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/01/schools-parents-removed-fewer-books-last-year-reports-find/?

Federal judge backs removal of penguin children’s book by Florida school board

TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge this week rejected a challenge to a 2023 decision by the Escambia County School Board to remove the book “And Tango Makes Three” from school libraries, ruling the move did not violate First Amendment rights.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/02/federal-judge-backs-removal-of-penguin-childrens-book-by-florida-school-board/?

Florida again leads U.S. in book bans in 2024-25, free speech group says

Florida leads the U.S. in school book bans in the most recent school year, marking the third straight year the state topped an annual list compiled by free speech group PEN America.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/02/florida-again-leads-u-s-in-book-bans-in-2024-25-free-speech-group-says/?

[phkrause]

Wyoming library director fired amid book dispute wins $700,000 settlement

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — A former Wyoming library director who was fired amid an uproar over books with sexual content and LGBTQ+ themes that some people complained were inappropriate for youngsters and who sought their removal from youth shelves will be paid $700,000 after settling a lawsuit.

https://apnews.com/article/wyoming-librarian-fired-books-lgbtq-gillette-39f14cc98eb23807b04c0ce0753c20c0?

[phkrause]

Book Bans in the U.S. Hit Record Levels

Efforts to remove or restrict titles are becoming increasingly organized and politically driven, according to a new report.

Book bans and attempted bans in U.S. libraries have reached record levels, with efforts to remove or restrict titles becoming increasingly organized and politically driven, according to a new report from the American Library Association. The ALA released its annual list of the most frequently challenged books on Monday as part of its State of America’s Libraries Report. Leading the list for 2025 is Patricia McCormick’s Sold, a 2006 novel about sex trafficking in India. Other heavily targeted titles include Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Maia Kobabe’s graphic memoir Gender Queer, and Sarah J. Maas’ Empire of Storms, among others. The association recorded challenges to 4,235 unique books in 2025, just shy of the record 4,240 reported in 2023. It defines a challenge as an attempt to remove or restrict access to library material based on objections from individuals or groups. Many objections centered on LGBTQ+ themes, sexual violence, and depictions of substance use. The ALA also noted that most challenges now come from organized political or advocacy groups such as Moms for Liberty, rather than individual parents, with more than 90 percent linked to activists or government officials.