Florida received a dubious distinction this year when it surpassed Texas as the state with the most book bans in its public schools.
Last month, PEN America, a nonprofit group formed in 1922 that protects free expression through the advancement of literature, released a list of all Florida school districts that have removed books from its classroom and/or school library shelves.
Brevard County schools pulled 153 titles from its classrooms and school libraries. Clay County had banned 403 books.
Brevard County’s list of banned books includes, “Johann Gutenberg and the Printing Press” by Kay Melchisedech Olson, “Poisonous, Smelly, and Amazing Plants” by Zonderkidz.com and “The Backyard Bird Feeders’ Bible: The A-Z Guide to Feeders, Seed Mixes, Projects, and Treats” by Sally Roth.
PEN America’s list of Florida school districts and the books that have been banned in those districts jumps from Miami-Dade Public Schools (8 titles banned) to Okaloosa County School District (22 titles banned).
The good news?
Monroe County isn’t on the list.
“I feel really fortunate,” local Schools Superintendent Theresa Axford told the Keys Weekly on Oct. 9. “If a parent complained about a book, then we’d pull it initially and run it through a review committee, but no one has done that. Our books are chosen carefully, and I appreciate that parents are in our schools so much and trust our staff.”
She explained that the school district has a form available on its website, where parents can complain about a book.
“They have to cite the specific passages from the book,” Axford said. “In fact, one parent recently commended the school district at a school board meeting because she had not found anything objectionable in our school media centers.”
Axford was an English major during her undergraduate studies, and she completed her master’s thesis on “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck.
“I don’t want to get to the point of pulling books like ‘Of Mice and Men,’ and other literature. I believe in reading. I love reading and I don’t want to have the kind of stuff going on in our schools that is happening elsewhere in Florida.”
Axford added that all Monroe County school media centers recently received new furniture, so some videos circulating among parents and the press showing empty bookshelves inside school libraries are not empty because books were banned. Rather, they are surplus furniture being removed, Axford said.
“We have not been purging books from libraries,” Axford said. “Our media specialists have all received the state’s training. They didn’t remove anything, other than the usual review of outdated books. Now, they did, on a few occasions, move some titles from, say, the section for kids in K-2 to the shelves for kids in grades 3-4, just to keep things age-appropriate.”
Axford said Sigsbee Charter School in Key West, a charter school located on a Navy base that serves an equal number of military and civilian families, has received some interest from parents about library materials.
“In terms of our school library, the state provided guidelines and created formal procedures to provide access, handle concerns and vet resources,” Sigsbee Principal Eli Jannes told the Keys Weekly on Oct. 11. “The procedure provides an opportunity for parents to voice a concern, but it also ensures that a book is not removed based on one person’s opinion — that it is carefully reviewed by a certified panel.
“For example, we had a situation that emanated from an individual who did not thoroughly read or comprehend the legislation. The individual also did not read the book,” Jannes said. “Honestly, we have yet to receive any requests for consideration that follow the protocol set forth by the state.
“In the end, what matters is that all children feel like they belong and feel safe and supported so that they can learn. I would much prefer that parents encourage their children to read rather than limit their access to books. If you want to really keep them safe, control their access to social media — there are way more hidden dangers on TikTok than in the school library,” Jannes said, adding that Sigsbee also has recategorized some materials in the library based on age-appropriateness.
