Leon schools policy tells parents to approve each book, or allow students check out any book
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – The Leon County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a new library book policy meant to provide parental controls on what content children are allowed to check out.
The decision came after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1069, a bill that restricts pronoun usage in schools, while also mandating counties produce updated parental rights policies in regards to school library content.
The new policy allows for parents to choose between two options for their child’s library access. Option one allows for full and complete library access without parental approval and option two requires the parent to approve each individual piece of library material that the child selects.
The restricted option requires that a child who seeks to check out any library material must present the content to the school librarian who will then contact the child’s parent. The parent then has 48 hours to accept or deny the content for check out.
Board member Darryl Jones expressed his enthusiasm for the policy during an August 7 review meeting before the vote.
“It appears to me that this is the ideal remedy for those who talk about the exercising of parental rights,” he said.
Jones continued that if parents are frustrated with heightened “inconveniences or bureaucracies” that the policy creates, than they can easily switch to the all-access option for their child.
The board members agreed that having the all-access option as the default choice was best for most parents.
Duval County responded with their own school library policy that requires any content being challenged for sexually explicit content to be removed from school shelves until the objections is resolved.
Leon County’s chapter of Moms for Liberty released a statement showing disapproval towards the board’s new policy.
“Statute requires the district to offer parents a way to limit their children’s access to certain materials,” they said. “Unfortunately, they’re making it as difficult as possible.”
“Teachers and parents alike are saying it’s not a workable system.”
The chapter continued to say that the policy still does not excuse the county from keeping “inappropriate materials” in the school libraries.
The Leon policy decision came after the school board has faced several book challenges from Moms for Liberty relating to the content on school shelves.
Most recently, the board reviewed and responded to one concern about the book I Am Billie Jean King during their July 24 meeting. The story contains material on same-sex marriage and is targeted for young readers.
The county voted to keep the book on the shelves, but the individual who formally challenged the content spoke out about how requiring parents to accept and deny material on a case-by-case basis makes things difficult for both adults and children.
“Requiring students to wait for their parents to be able to approve books will limit the amount of reading they are able to do,” said Katie Lyons, the mother who filed the challenge after her elementary-aged daughter read the material and asked questions about homosexuality.
