Book Ban Lawsuit
Parents are suing the state over the law that makes it easier to ban books in Florida. They filed the suit last Thursday claiming their first amendment rights are violated by the law that requires each school board in Florida to have a formal policy in place for challenging books. Plaintiffs argue the law favors parents who want books banned from public schools and doesn’t give the same rights to those opposed to removing the books. Stephana Ferrell is one of the three parents suing the State Board of Education. The Orange County mother of two is also Director of the Florida Freedom to Read Project. She joins Engage to discuss the lawsuit.
Central Florida Public Media Education Reporter Danielle Prieur also joins Engage to provide context to the lawsuit and insight into the book ban battles.
Radioactive Roads
In October of 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of a little-known industrial waste product in the construction of government roadway projects. Less than a year later, the EPA withdrew that approval due to a lack of evidence citing the safety of the waste product primarily because it was radioactive. A Tampa-based fertilizer company has the approval of the state of Florida to test the same radioactive material, called phosphogypsum with the hope of using it to build road surfaces in the state. Critics are concerned that the state’s wet weather could cause contaminated runoff to pollute water tables and agricultural spaces. Max Chesnes is an environment and climate reporter with the Tampa Bay Times. He used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain an impact report reviewing the science on the safety of using phosphogypsum in road development. He joins Engage to parse out his findings.
Young Fathers of Central Florida
Father’s Day is Sunday. There’s a drastic difference between physically fathering a child and making a lifelong commitment to being a dad. Haki Nkrumah founded Young Fathers of Central Florida. He hosted a roundtable on responsible fatherhood yesterday in Orlando at the Grand Avenue Neighborhood Center to kick off the 17th annual Fathers Week. Nkrumah joins Engage to discuss the diverse communities he serves and why he started Young Fathers of Central Florida.
