School board forced to remove explicit books after stopping parents from speaking

VERO BEACH, Fla. (FLV) – A new Florida law forced the Indian River School Board to remove a number of books after the board stopped parents from reading sexually explicit passages during a board meeting.

This new law was put into action during an Indian River County School board meeting on Aug. 28, where dozens of parents read explicit excerpts from books, leading the board to stop them or give warnings not to proceed.

According to HB 1069, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May, parents “shall have the right to read passages from any material that is subject to an objection.”

If the school board denies the right to read passages due to content that is “pornographic” or “harmful to minors,” the school district shall discontinue use of the material.

Parental rights group Moms for Liberty, a national nonprofit organization, spearheaded the efforts at Monday’s meeting.

According to their website, Moms for Liberty is dedicated to “fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”

Over 30 parents, grandparents, and community members showed up to the meeting and were successful in getting the books removed, according to Jennifer Pippin, chairman of the Indian River County Chapter of Moms for Liberty.

A viral video surfaced online of Pastor John K. Amanchukwu Sr. who read an explicit excerpt from the book 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and was promptly cut off by the school board.

“As if letting him finger me was going to cure all my problems,” Amanchukwu Sr. read from the book.

“Sir, I’ll stop you there,” the board member said, cutting the speaker off.

According to the school district’s website, copies of the book are located at Vero Beach Freshman Learning Center, Sebastian River High School and Vero Beach Freshman Learning Center.

This is just one example of the board cutting off a speaker.

After a lengthy meeting, the board unanimously passed a motion to “have the books removed that were read – which either had to be stopped or given a warning – to be removed immediately.”

The motion noted they will be removed “as long as there’s verification that what was read was actually in the book that is on the shelves.”

It is unclear exactly how many books were removed, but dozens of people read passages from what appeared to be different books.

Pippin told Florida’s Voice she is “happy that it’s finally gotten done, and took almost two years.”

She said, however, she is “still disappointed” in the school board members who “made us challenge these books twice.”

Pippin told Florida’s Voice that most of these books were challenged in 2021 and 2022, but were put back on the shelves.

The Indian River School District issued a statement to Florida’s Voice and said the board “listened to community and unanimously voted to take bold and swift action to remove the books containing the excerpts that were read aloud and issued a content warning or stopped during public comment at our Business Meeting.”

“Our Board Chairman, Dr. Peggy Jones upheld the individuals first amendment rights while at the same time providing warnings regarding content,” the statement said.

The statement said school districts are currently awaiting the dissemination of the list from the department of education with materials that were removed or discontinued as a result of an objection during the 2022-2023 school year.

Pippin noted that the statement “failed to mention” that many of the books were allowed on the shelves after previous challenges. She shared a document of 30 books with explicit content that were still on shelves in the district prior to the meeting.

“The goal is to get these out of the hands of children,” Pippin said.

Many other books with explicit content that were currently on the shelves at schools in the district, such as Tilt by Ellen Hopkins, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Collateral by Ellen Hopkins, the Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas. The district website lists the location of each book and the status, which is marked “in.”

Pippin told Florida’s Voice the group is planning to challenge more books in the coming months.

“Florida parents- if you read a passage from a book and the board chair stops you because of explicit content, that book must now be removed from the district,” Justice said.

In July, Leon County Schools announced that they removed five books containing sexually explicit material after members of Leon’s Moms for Liberty chapter made the request.

Moms for Liberty also made headlines in June for holding a national summit in Philadelphia with big names including DeSantis, former President Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and more.

During his speech, Trump praised the group’s efforts to “rescue our country from the sinister forces who hate it.”

“You have proven beyond all doubt that there is no earthly force more powerful than the love of a mother for her children that’s true,” Trump said.

“In school board races, PTA meetings and town halls across the nation, you have taught the radical left Marxists and communists a lesson they will never forget. Don’t mess with America’s moms,” Trump continued.

During the conference, DeSantis discussed the subject of sexual books in schools with Moms for Liberty Co-Founder Tiffany Justice.

“Where do we go from here?” Justice asked.

“We just want education, right? If you’re trying to impose an agenda, we are going to reject the book. So give it to us straight,” DeSantis said.