Education

Florida Department of Education releases list of over 700 banned books in K-12 schools

Central Florida Public Media | By Danielle Prieur

Published November 11, 2024 at 2:10 PM EST

A girl reads "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison.

Over the weekend, the Florida Department of Education released a list of over 700 books that were “removed or discontinued” from districts throughout the state last school year.

That’s an increase of almost 400 books from the list they released a year ago, for the 2022-2023 school year.

According to the list, Central Florida districts including Brevard, Marion, Orange, Polk, Seminole and Volusia County Schools all removed books last year.

Volusia led with 40 banned books, including classics like “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut along with newer favorites like “Looking for Alaska” by John Green.

Florida Freedom to Read Project Director Stephana Ferrell called the list an undercount, and says she’s worried that even according to DOE data, book bans continue to rise in the state.

“A lot of them removed many, many books, including classic literature and literature that regularly appears on the AP exams and prepares our students for college level coursework. We're removing all of these books,” said Ferrell.

Ferrell said a few parents and residents still make up the bulk of these challenges.

“And right now, what's happening is one or two loud people in a particular district can dictate for all what is available, and it runs against, again, what a majority of parents are telling their school districts they want,” said Ferrell.

PEN America found Florida led the country again last year in book bans, with over 4,500 books banned in the Sunshine State, costing districts about $34,000 to $135,000 a year.

Starting in 2023, law HB 1069 required every school district in Florida to have a policy in place for challenging books.

Under that law, a book could be challenged if it includes any content that “depicts or describes sexual conduct, is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented, or is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used.”

Thousands of books were challenged in the state including books like the Bible, the dictionary and other classics.

In response, Governor Ron DeSantis asked the legislature to put some restrictions in place when it came to book bans, and in 2024, he signed HB 1285 into law, which restricts the number of challenges a non-parent can make in a school district.

In a statement corresponding to this year’s list of banned books, the Florida Department of Education said, “There are no books banned in Florida and sexually explicit materials do not belong in schools. Once again, far left activist groups are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians. The better question is why do these groups continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit materials.”

Here’s the list of books that were banned in Central Florida schools during the 2023-2024 school year according to the Florida Department of Education:

Florida Department of Education releases list of over 700 banned books in K-12 schools

Brevard County Schools

Marion County Schools

Orange County Schools

Polk County Schools

Seminole County Schools

Volusia County Schools