A newly released report from the Florida Department of Education shows about 600 books were removed, restricted or discontinued from public schools across the state during the 2025-26 school year.
The removals were reported in just 10 of Florida’s 67 school districts.
Three are in Central Florida: Orange, Polk and Sumter counties. Sumter, which is largely rural outside The Villages retirement community, removed 22 books from high school libraries. Polk banned 32, while Orange had only one.
Clay County, north of Central Florida, reported more than 260 removals.
For most districts, the department says the books were challenged by parents or community members and then reviewed by school districts under state laws governing what materials students can access.
In Sumter County, the district reviewed the books under state laws restricting materials considered sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate for students.
The list includes works by Stephen King, Jennette McCurdy and Sarah J. Maas, along with popular titles including “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” and “The Freedom Writers Diary.”
William Johnson, director of PEN America’s Florida office, which advocates against book censorship, said the consequences of removing books can be different in rural communities.
Students in larger metropolitan areas may have access to public libraries, bookstores and other places to find a book that is no longer available at school. Johnson says those alternatives can be harder to reach in rural areas.
“The options are fewer and farther away in rural communities, so removing a book from a school library can have a greater practical effect on whether a young person can obtain it,” he said.
Johnson said rural districts can also have fewer librarians and media specialists available to review challenged books, along with smaller library collections and fewer institutions where students can access books.
He said that creates an “undue burden” for the people conducting the reviews, while also potentially limiting students’ access to books.
The process comes from changes to Florida law governing materials available in public schools. Under state law, HB 1467, parents or guardians can challenge books or other materials, which school districts then review under state requirements.
Johnson said some challenges focused on individual passages, particularly those involving sexual content, rather than the book as a whole.
“When you do that, when you don't understand literary merit, context, you are unfortunately removing books that have real, true literary and cultural value,” he said.
Each county's list, added all together, comes to 200 more entries than last year’s total.
The big picture
The American Library Association documented 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second-highest number it has recorded. The organization says 5,668 books were ultimately banned from all libraries that year, while another 920 faced access restrictions.
The ALA also found that 92% of book challenges in 2025 were initiated by pressure groups, government officials or decision-makers. Less than 3% originated with individual parents, according to the organization.
Here’s a list of the books removed from Central Florida schools in the 2025-2026 year:
Sumter County Grades 9-12
- A Court of Mist and Fury — Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Thorns and Roses — Sarah J. Maas
- Breathless — Jennifer Niven
- Bronxwood — Coe Booth
- Collateral — Ellen Hopkins
- Empire of Storms — Sarah J. Maas
- Homegoing — Yaa Gyasi
- House of Earth and Blood — Sarah J. Maas
- Kingdom of Ash — Sarah J. Maas
- Like a Love Story — Abdi Nazemian
- Lonesome Dove — Larry McMurtry
- Milk and Honey — Rupi Kaur
- Red Hood — Elana K. Arnold
- Sold — Patricia McCormick
- Storm and Fury — Jennifer L. Armentrout
- The Freedom Writers Diary — Erin Gruwell
- The Glass Castle — Jeannette Walls
- The Nowhere Girls — Amy Reed
- The Pact: A Love Story — Jodi Picoult
- Tilt — Ellen Hopkins
- Water for Elephants — Sara Gruen
- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West — Gregory Maguire
Polk County Grades 9-12
- Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls — Lynn Weingarten
- The Porcupine of Truth — Bill Konigsberg
- The Scammer — Tiffany D. Jackson
- This Boy — Lauren Myracle
- This Is Why They Hate Us — Aaron H. Aceves
- When It’s Real — Erin Watt
- Yes Please — Amy Poehler
- You Before Anyone Else — Julie Cross
- Blood & Honey — Shelby Mahurin
- Brightest Night — Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Bronxwood — Coe Booth
- Culpa Nuestra — Mercedes Ron
- Deadline — Chris Crutcher
- Did I Mention I Need You? — Estelle Maskame
- Different Seasons — Stephen King
- Every Last Breath — Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close — Jonathan Safran Foer
- Gods & Monsters — Shelby Mahurin
- Grace and Glory — Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World — Kelly Jensen
- I’m Glad My Mom Died — Jennette McCurdy
- Kingdom of the Cursed — Kerri Maniscalco
- Lush — Natasha Friend
- Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You — Todd Hasak-Lowy
- Now I Rise — Kiersten White
- Rabbit and Robot — Andrew Smith
- Serpent & Dove — Shelby Mahurin
- Someone I Used to Know — Patty Blount
- 100 Sideways Miles — Andrew Smith
- 11/22/63: A Novel — Stephen King
- 9 Days & 9 Nights — Katie Cotugno
- As She Fades — Abbi Glines
Orange County Grades 9-12
- I Never, Laurie Hooper
