Florida school district bans the DICTIONARY over fears students would look up ... trends now
A Florida school district has pulled dictionaries off its libraries' shelves out of fears that students might look up words like 'sex' following Governor Ron DeSantis's restrictions on what can be taught in schools.
The Escambia County School District, located in the Florida panhandle, took down The American Heritage Children's Dictionary, Webster's Dictionary for Students, and Merriam-Webster's Elementary Dictionary, among other books.
School officials determined that these dictionaries and encyclopedias violated Florida law HB 1069, also known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, signed by DeSantis in 2022 to limit access to materials containing 'sexual conduct' in classrooms.
The school board implemented an emergency rule in June last year to review all library books after the bill was expanded to cover all public school students from kindergarten through graduating high school.
More than 2,800 books, including at least eight encyclopedias, five dictionaries, and copies of The Guinness Book of World Records, were removed.
The Escambia County School District has pulled dictionaries off its libraries' shelves out of fears that students might look up words like 'sex' following Governor Ron DeSantis 's restrictions on what can be taught in schools
Superintendent Keith Leonard said in June 2023 that the approach was 'necessitated by a danger to health, safety, and welfare'
Parents of students at Escambia schools took to the court on Wednesday, joining a lawsuit led by PEN America, a group advocating for freedom of speech.
U.S. District Judge Kent Wetherell ruled the federal lawsuit against the Escambia County school board to proceed and allow plaintiffs to pursue their claims under the First Amendment.
Katie Blankenship, director of PEN America's Florida chapter, said she's 'heartened' by the ruling and called for the books to be returned In a statement released after Wednesday's ruling.
'These books need to be returned to the shelves where they belong, and every day that students are refused access is a day they're not getting the high-quality education they deserve,' Blankenship said.
'School libraries are not state propaganda centers. They are meant to be sites of inquiry, where students can encounter a diverse range of ideas, gain access to information, and inspire discussion, debate, creativity, and critical thinking.'
'This case cuts to the heart of who we are as a country, and for the sake of our children and the future of our democracy, it's critical that we adhere to the language of the First Amendment and the precedents of our federal courts.'
'We will not stand by as these critical spaces are undermined by political agendas and censorship,' she added.
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