Florida looks into official rule to discipline educators for ‘frivolous’ book challenges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – At the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Board of Education has moved forward with creating a new rule meant to target educators who weaponize the state’s book challenging laws to make a political point.

DeSantis scathed educators, parents and other adults potentially without children in school for pouncing on the state’s rules letting books that have age-inappropriate material in them be challenged and set for review by county school boards.

He floated instituting fines on “frivolous” challenges to classics like To Kill A Mockingbird, or limiting challenges based on if somebody has children in the school or not.

“If you take a position as a teacher that no books are appropriate because ‘the state is telling you this…’ first of all, that’s a lie,” DeSantis said. “Second of all, you’re depriving students of an ability to achieve what we’re trying to do – which is give them a good education.”

The change would alter the existing rule entitled “Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida,” and it would look to “clarify” the principles that bound Florida educators.

More specifically, the rule would vie to expand the grounds for taking disciplinary action against principals if they deny students’ access to certain kinds of materials, such as those in classroom libraries – namely if such action is taken “for reasons unrelated to the educational needs of a student.”

The rule proposal also says that such practices “harm” students, echoing DeSantis’ comments last week that “political” book challenges serve as political distractions in schools and serve to only push a “narrative,” on top of potentially depriving students of access to important material.

DeSantis had said he is looking to work with the Florida Legislature to “streamline” the book challenging rules and process.

“Don’t let these folks pull a fast one on you,” he said. “Don’t let them indulge in phony narratives.”

The workshop date for considering the rule is March 1.

At the beginning of the event last week, DeSantis played a video of books pornographic in nature that were permitted in school.

Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. debunked the notion that classic works are being banned in the state, and rather explained that age inappropriate materials are the ones being restricted.

“We will continue to set the record straight as long as it takes,” Diaz said. “This process is designed to prevent activists from inserting inappropriate materials into our children’s classroom.”

Among the “book ban” controversy in Florida since the passage of parental rights legislation included rumors surrounding works about Roberto Clemente, a former Black, Puerto Rican professional baseball player in the late-20th century. A book about Clemente was chosen as a Florida “book of the month” last year.