Hillsborough school board votes 4-3 to remove ‘sexually explicit’ book from middle schools

Published Mar. 29, 2023, 11:48 a.m. ET | Updated Mar. 31, 2023

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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (FLV) – The Hillsborough County School Board voted 4-3 to remove a “sexually explicit” book from all of the district’s middle schools on Tuesday.

A special called board meeting to hear an appeal about whether the book “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson is appropriate for schools.

The book was appealed and made it past two committees who voted to allow it in Pierce Middle School before getting to the school board’s vote. However, the board ended up voting on whether to strip it from all middle schools.

Parents were especially concerned that the book details “the ins and outs of gay sex” and how to use a “hookup app.”

The three board members who voted to keep the book in all of the middle schools include Nadia Combs, Jessica Vaughn, and Karen Perez.

“For us to have a book that is so sexually explicit in the hands of children of minors, that is what is upsetting to me and concerning to me,” Board Member Dr. Stacy Hahn said.

Hahn, who supported the removal of the book, said they have a responsibility to ensure that the materials in their public libraries and in their schools are appropriate for students.

During the meeting, members of the public were able to speak. Mikey Sciarrino read an excerpt from the book, and called the language “extremely obscene.”

“Please don’t fall for the nonsense that removing this book from schools would be fascism or an attack on LGBTQ people,” Sciarrino said.

Hillsborough County school board attorney Jim Porter explained the district has a three level process, it first goes to committee based upon the school community, which concluded that book remain in the school library. The person who filed the appeal then has a right to appeal that to a district level committee. In this case, they sent it to the district level and they also concluded the book should remain.

During the meeting, Superintendent Addison G. Davis recommended the book should be removed from all middle schools in Hillsborough County.

Board member Jessica Vaughan said she doesn’t think it’s a harmful book to have in schools, but did question if it was appropriate.

“I want to be clear that even if I feel that this book isn’t necessarily the best fit, where sixth graders can access it, so that they could use it in the best way, does not mean that I don’t think that this book should be in our schools, or that I want to in any way, take away from the process that we have, I think it’s important,” Vaughan said.

Board member Lynn Gray said this has “nothing to do with the LGBTQ+ community, in its own way, as far as the book goes, because they have every right to have literature and expose the children to what is real or not real within their communities.”

“The recommendations are 14, and up and there is a sexual application, and we don’t want the students to start playing around with that,” Gray said.

The book details how to use the “hookup app” called Grindr using “kid friendly language like ‘blowy.'”

“I know that some students are going to be disappointed or upset if this book is removed, or during this challenge. But I do want to encourage them to discuss that with their parents. I also want to reassure them that there are lots of other materials and books in our libraries that are educational and inspiring and engaging for them to read,” Dr. Hahn said.

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