Penguin Random House Sues Florida School Over Book Bans

Updated May 19, 2023

• Penguin Random House, the largest U.S. publisher, sued a Flordia county school board for banning and restricting access to books. The lawsuit, PEN America v. Book Bans, alleges that banning the books in school libraries violates constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection under the law. 
• The publisher claims that school officials are acting in defiance of existing policies that disproporionately impact books addressing racism and LGBTQIA+ relationships. 

Updated May 11, 2023

• In his ongoing attack on "woke indoctrination" in education, Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expanding his influence on what is taught in the state's public schools. 
• Education officials have rejected 66 of 101 submitted social studies textbooks, many of which had to make revisions requested by the state before getting approved. Initially only 19 books were approved because the rest of the submissions did not align with Florida law and contained information about controversial political, social, and racial topics. 
• In one of the textbooks, references to the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement were removed. In another submission, the term "social justice issues" was changed to "key principles."
• The list of rejected materials included books on U.S. history and the Holocaust, but officials have only offered vague justification for the rejections, stating that the books did not meet state standards.
• Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said:

"DeSantis and extreme MAGA Republicans are bent on dumbing down America's education system and silencing Black voices."

• Defending the choices, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said:

"To uphold our exceptional standards, we must ensure our students and teachers have the highest quality materials available – materials that focus on historical facts and are free from inaccuracies or ideological rhetoric."

Updated February 14, 2023

• The non-profit College Board, the testing organization that created the African American studies course that DeSantis banned from Florida high schools, accused the state Education Department of “slander” and spreading misinformation about the course for political gain.
• College Board said,

“We deeply regret not immediately denouncing the Florida Department of Education’s slander, magnified by the DeSantis administration’s subsequent comments, that African American Studies ‘lacks educational value. Our failure to raise our voice betrayed Black scholars everywhere and those who have long toiled to build this remarkable field.”

What's the story?

• Florida Gov. Ron Desantis (R) has banned a new advanced African American high school history course as part of the “Stop WOKE” act that regulates and limits how race and gender are taught in state schools. 
• Under DeSantis, Florida has banned the teaching of critical race theory.

What is the course?

• The course is part of a pilot program by the US College Board which will be taught in 60 secondary schools across the country.
• The course was designed to cover over 400 years of African American history, literature, geography, and politics.

What does the DeSantis Administration Say?

• Governor Ron DeSantis' administration said the proposed course

"[L]acks educational value and is contrary to Florida law."

• DeSantis and his officials have not specified which Florida law the course breaks.
• The Florida Department of Education described its intention to block the course on January 12th. DeSantis officially banned the course in a letter from the state education department to the College Board, writing:

"In Florida, we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory."

What are the Criticisms?

• The decision has been met with condemnation from the National Parents Union who consider the decision an attack on all BIPOC communities, and an example of censorship and historical erasure.
• Senator Shevrin Jones (D-FL) criticized the ban, asking why European History courses were still being taught.
• The ban is the newest legal attack on discussions about race, gender, sex, and critical theory in schools in the state.

Do you want to prevent the ban from spreading to other states? How do you feel about the ban?

—Emma Kansiz

(Photo Credit: Twitter)