WFSU | By Margie Menzel
A bill before the Florida Legislature would change the rules for how schools can evaluate challenged books in their libraries. A group of advocates — including book authors — is pushing back.
Under the bill, when books used in school libraries or classrooms are challenged, the decision makers would not be able to consider literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
Apopka Republican Representative Doug Bankson is the sponsor. He says some schools are citing those reasons when they keep books he thinks are inappropriate on their shelves.
“Some districts have retained materials containing explicit sexual content by citing literary or artistic merit, undermining parental rights to protect their children from age-inappropriate content,” Bankson said. “Again, there are schools that our law is working, but there are those that haven’t, and that’s where the concern lies.”
This story was originally produced by WLRN, South Florida’s only public radio station at 91.3 FM, as part of a content sharing partnership with MIA Media Group. Read more at WLRN.org
