(NewsNation) — A Florida school district has removed more than 1,600 books, including dictionaries and encyclopedias, to review them for possible bans under Florida law that prohibits books with sexual content.
The move comes just days after a federal judge ruled a lawsuit can move forward against a Florida Panhandle school district over its removal of books about race and LGBTQ+ identities from library shelves.
The federal lawsuit alleges the Escambia County School District and its school board are violating the First Amendment through the removal of 10 books.
The Florida Freedom to Read Project obtained the list of books pulled by the Escambia County School District, which includes five dictionaries, eight encyclopedias, “The Guinness Book of World Records,” “Ripley’s Believe it or Not,” and Anne Frank’s “Diary of a Young Girl.”
A district spokesperson told The Pensacola News Journal that the books “have not been banned or removed” but were pulled for “further review” to ensure compliance with the law that went into effect in July.
Florida House Bill 1069 expands on the “Parental Rights in Education” law passed last year. Dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics, the bill prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in K-3 grades. Republican lawmakers voted to extend the prohibition from Pre-K all the way through eighth grade.
NewsNation affiliate WFLA contributed to this report.
