Left-wing groups sue Florida over policy on school boards removing explicit books
WARNING: This report contains explicit book passages found in school libraries.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Left-wing groups filed a lawsuit in reaction to the State Board of Education’s review process for challenged books in school libraries.
The group alleges HB 1069 “discriminates against parents who oppose book bans and censorship,” according to a press release from the ACLU.
“It gives parents who favor censorship a formal process to challenge a local school board’s decision to keep a book on school shelves, while parents opposed to censorship are excluded from the process altogether,” the release continued.
The complaint was filed by the ACLU, Democracy Forward, and Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of three parents who sought the state’s review of their school board’s decisions to remove materials from local schools.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education told Florida’s Voice there are “no books banned in Florida.”
“However, sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for classrooms,” the spokesperson continued.
Florida’s Voice examined the books referenced in the lawsuit and discovered that each one contains explicit content, as detailed further in the article.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office has previously “exposed” the “book ban hoax,” clarifying that the state has “empowered parents to object to obscene material in the classroom.”
According to the law, each district school board must adopt a policy for parents to object to a book.
In 2023, the State Board of Education passed a rule that would allow parents or guardians to request a “Special Magistrate” if they believe their district “did not properly address a parent’s concerns with regards to objected materials in school or classroom libraries.”
Plaintiff Ferrell/”Shut Up!” by Marilyn Robinson
Stephana Ferrell, a parent who is listed as one of the plaintiffs in the complaint, “disagreed” with Orange County School’s decision in 2023 to discontinue use of “Shut Up” by Marilyn Robinson, and requested a special magistrate.
The commissioner of education denied her request in February. In the complaint, Ferrell said her request was dismissed “because she holds the state’s disfavored view.”
Orange County Schools removed “Shut Up!” from libraries in 2023 due to “descriptions of sexual conduct,” according to the district’s Requests for Reconsideration page.
Here are a few excerpts from the book, according to the book objection.
Page 80: “Suddenly, I feel it running down my cheek again. I see Denton’s hands pushing Eddie’s mouth onto his slimy dick and I barely get the toilet lid up in time to puke my guts out.”
Page 86: “He told Eddie he’d only been joking about doing him in the butt, and they could just keep being nice to each other without getting mad that way no one would have to die.”
Book objection: “Shut Up” by Marilyn Reynolds
The parent who originally filed the objection said she “believes the book could cause psychological damage to any student.”
Plaintiffs Tray and Tressler/St. Johns book objections
The lawsuit said the two other plaintiffs/parents, Nancy Tray and Anne Watts Tressler, “disagreed” with the school board of St. Johns County’s May 28 decision to “restrict use” of multiple books.
The books listed in the lawsuit are “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, “Freedom Writers Diary” by Erin Grunwell, “L8r, g8r” by Lauren Myracle and “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Lee Dugard.
The lawsuit said the board voted to restrict the use of “Slaughterhouse Five” and “A Stolen Life” to 11th and 12th grade students, and restrict the use of “Freedom Writers Diary” and “l8r, g8r” to students in 12th grade who have “obtained parental consent.”
Tray argued against the removal of books and said she wants her children “to understand things they’re experiencing, and their friends are going through, and the experiences of people and communities outside of their own,” to “have access to relevant books and cautionary tales selected by the experts in our schools who are concerned about all of our kids.”
The lawsuit claimed any requests by Tray and Tressler for a special magistrate “would be futile, as the Commissioner of Education will deny any such request.”
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
The book contains “explicit violence including animal cruelty, inexplicit sexual activities including beastiality, sexual nudity, profanity, and inflammatory religious commentary,” according to BookLooks.
Here are a few excerpts from the book:
Page 59: “He had a dirty picture of a woman attempting sexual intercourse with a Shetland
pony. He had made Billy Pilgrim admire that picture several times.”Page 150: “Billy was on top of Valenica, making love to her.”
Page 151: “Billy made a noise like a small, rusty hinge. He had just emptied his seminal
vesicles into Valencia, had contributed his share of the Green Beret.”Page 159: “‘Man,’ said the porter, ‘you sure had a hard-on.'”
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut via BookLooks
Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Grunwell
The book contains “sexual activities; sexual nudity; alternate sexualities; profanity and derogatory terms; violence including child abuse and molestation; hate including racist commentary; alcohol and drug abuse,” according to BookLooks.
Here are a few excerpts from the book:
Page 75: “I was only six when a friend of my father’s molested me in his home.”
Page 98: “Did he ever think of suicide? …Sorry, diary, I was going to try not to do it tonight, but the little baggy of white powder is calling my name. As I chop up the white rock on my special makeup mirror into very fine powder…”
Page 130: “We would be kissing pretty heavily and he would get a little too excited. He would want to have sex and I always told him wasn’t ready. He would start pulling my clothes off, saying, “We are going to do this!”
Page 150: “As his penis twirled in my mouth, thoughts of the popcorn he promised me ran
Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Grunwell via BookLooks
through my mind…”
“L8r, g8r” by Lauren Myracle
“L8r, g8r” contains “references to sexual nudity; sexual activities; and profanity,” according to Booklooks.
Here are a few excerpts from the book:
Page 140: “You said, ‘what the hell, let’s have an orgy?'”
Page 135: “Have you ever given logan a blow job?”
Page 211: “SnowAngel: well, the sex toy party is part of that whole lineup, and aunt sadie
finally agreed to host it, and it’s set for next Thursday!”Page 211: “…so no emma’s gonna show up next Thursday with a humungous box of dildos! I
“L8r, g8r” by Lauren Myracle via Booklooks
love it!”
“A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Lee Dugard
“A Stolen Life” contains “aberrant sexual activities involving child molestation, rape, and references to beastiality; sexual nudity; violence; drug abuse; references to animal cruelty; and mild/infrequent profanity,” according to BookLooks.
Here are a few excerpts from the book:
Page 38: “I am bleeding ‘down there.’ I am so scared. Am I dying? Why am I bleeding? He says it’s okay—he just ‘popped my cherry.‘”
Page 56: “I have to touch his penis and stroke it up and down; he calls this ‘jacking off’” Sometimes he wants me to suck on it, too. I hate it so much; it tastes disgusting.”
Page 56: “He fucks me as hard as he can it seems like. He uses that word a lot. My head is being pushed in between the couch and the pullout bed. I feel like I can’t breathe.”
A Stolen Life via BookLooks
Florida’s Voice will continue to follow this lawsuit as it makes its way through the legal process.
