When Yvette Benarroch, leader of the conservative Moms for Liberty chapter in Collier County, Florida, addressed the state Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, she expressed gratitude.
“Thank you for carrying out the governor’s parents’ rights agenda,” he said with a smile.
The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature passed legislation late last year that requires the board, a division of the state Department of Education, to approve training programs for the state’s public schools. Training is mandatory for all media specialists, who are responsible for finding and approving educational resources, and for teachers who have books in their classrooms.
Beyond saying that schools should be transparent about why they choose instructional materials, the law doesn’t describe what the training looks like, and state education officials have created a working group — made up primarily of parents, educators and school staff, including some who previously tried to ban the book from school – to plan new training.
The latest exercise, approved by the Board of Education this week, focuses on protecting children from books about racial justice and books with LGBTQ themes. This made many conservatives happy, and it was a victory for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, a possible 2024 presidential candidate who has highlighted parental rights and “anti-wokeness” in his political platform. He has championed workplace diversity initiatives (an effort thwarted by a federal judge), has elected conservatives to progressive college boards, pushed right-wing higher education officials to ban discussion of “critical race theory” and has championed the cause. the “Don’t Talk Gay” law that prohibits public school teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity.
Her success in turning Florida’s public schools into a place to foster right-wing ideas would not have been possible without the help of Moms for Liberty, a non-profit organization that advocates for parental rights – a term that has become synonymous with pushing conservative ideology in public. schools. Moms for Liberty has been on a book-banning crusade since its inception, and at least two of the group’s members are working on media specialist training including in Florida.
The shift in Florida comes as public and school libraries are under attack around US right-wing culture warriors, specifically forcing institutions to ban books with LGBTQ themes, claiming they are pornographic and school librarians not doing so. want to remove from the shelves trying to abuse or “former” children.
“The attack is more than just compiling books that are too mature for young children,” said Stephana Ferrell, founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a non-profit organization focused on fighting book bans and censorship. “They’re really targeting the lived experiences of people who aren’t white, Christian, cis or straight.”
New Guide Sparks Fear
The new training should be limited to instructional material. But because school librarians are also media specialists, some districts have begun to cite the guidance — even before the final exercise is approved — as justification for removing books from libraries.
“It’s just another way for the right to say you can’t trust public schools to deliver an education for your kids,” Ferrell said.
The Florida Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.
The new training, which can be found on the Florida Department of Education website, includes 40 slides and a 52-minute video. The beginning of the exercise is dedicated to the subject of pornography and states that no one can provide minors with sexually explicit or other harmful material unless it has “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
Violating state statutes on the provision of hazardous materials would be considered a felony, the exercise said. But it doesn’t provide any examples of work that fits this definition, and the vague language has some educators worried that they could be blamed for not censoring books that conservatives claim are harmful.
“I see that some librarians censor themselves because they’re afraid of getting in trouble, and they don’t have to think about choosing books for their students,” Tania Rodriguez, a media specialist in Osceola County, told WFTV 9 in Orlando.
The training also told media specialists to “avoid” material that could lead to indoctrination of students. It does not provide a definition of what might be considered indoctrination or include examples of material that might support it.
Educators must allow anyone who lives in the district to challenge material in schools, according to the training. It doesn’t say if this includes library books or if it only applies to classroom reading material. The training also said that media specialists should also check whether a book has been removed or restricted in another district, and then “carefully consider” whether to approve the book.
“It’s very frustrating because it’s all baseless,” said Kathleen Daniels, president of the Florida Association for Media Education. “There are no books in Florida schools that can be considered pornographic.”
‘13,000 more to go’
Many school board meetings across the country have made headlines in the past year as they have heated up, with residents rejecting right-wing school policies and efforts to ban books. But in Florida this week, almost all public comments supported the new rule.
If anything, some people worry that the training doesn’t go far enough.
Many language critics say that books with sexually explicit language can be used as long as they have educational value.
“Please tighten that language,” said parent Kathleen Murray, saying the guide has loopholes that allow students to read books that explain “how to engage in homosexual activity.”
Bruce Friedman, president of the Florida chapter of No Left Turn in Education, a conservative organization that fights for parents’ rights, is known in Clay County for repeatedly trying to get school districts to ban books. He said Wednesday that the new training guidelines will allow him to continue his efforts.
“I’ve challenged 1,800 books,” he said. “I still have 13,000 left.”
Parents are already able to restrict their children from reading any books they don’t like – in fact, all districts in Florida offer ways for parents to prevent their children from checking out books they deem inappropriate.
“We support the right of parents to guide their children’s education,” Daniels said. “But you can’t dictate what other kids can do.”
Conservatives claim crackdowns on educational resources are intended to protect children. But, Daniels says, kids can’t get away from certain books and aren’t open to different ideas.
“It’s frustrating,” he said, “because students are getting the short end of the stick.”