LGBT Books Disproportionately Affected As Florida Schools Ban More Than 700 Books

The Florida Department of Education has published a list of more than 700 books “removed or discontinued” from schools during 2023 and 2024.

Schools are now required to report it if they remove a book from their library, and the Department of Education is required to make this list of banned books public.

This is almost double the number of books that were removed the year before, and out of 70 school districts in Florida, 33 had banned books.

Book bans have been an increasing issue across the world, including locally in Australia — such as the intense backlash that occurredafter Cumberland Council in Sydney attempted to ban an LGBTQIA+ book in May.

PEN America, a nonprofit who ‘raise awareness for the protection of free expression’, found that there were just over 10,000 instances of books being banned or removed across the entirety of the US.

The organisation found that highest number of book bans during the 2023 and 2024’s school years occurred in Florida, with 4,500 instances, and Iowa, with 3,600 instances. PEN reports that these bans have cost school districts about $34,000 to $135,000 a year.

LGBT books banned by Florida schools

Some of the books on the list include American classics, like Normal People by Sally Rooney, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Alice Walker’s The Colour Purple, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. 

Books by Stephen King and Margaret Atwood have also been removed.

 

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Naturally, queer stories and LGBTQIA+ authors have been disproportionately affected.

LGBTQIA+ titles such as Juliet Takes a Breath, All Boys Aren’t Blue, Beyond Magenta, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire have all been removed from schools.

PEN America’s ‘Banned in the USA: Beyond the Shelves’ report states that of the 1091 most commonly banned books, a whopping 39% contained LGBTQIA+ characters, themes, or storylines.

Florida bill makes reporting banned books a requirement for all schools

This comes after the passing of House Bill 1069 in July, which requires school districts to have a reporting system, so parents can object to anything they think is inappropriate for their children to read.

Florida’s Department of Education is then required to report the materials objected to, along with specific reasons for the objection.

However, according to parent-led organisation, Florida Freedom Project, these disclosures were inconsistent. The organisation says many districts will add a removed book to the public list, mark it as “awaiting internal review”, but then will not add the title to the annual list. The group says thousands of removals and restrictions have gone unreported.

“This report, though a gross undercount of its impact, indicates that HB 1069 has led to a dramatic rise in school censorship with most of the reported cases championed by conservative interest groups, not individual parents,” sid the Florida Freedom to Read Project in a statement.

“Censorship is happening right here in Florida… Laws like HB 1069 empower the loudest voices in the state, not most parents or educational professionals.”

500 complaints about books were from one person

Florida Freedom Project also says 500 complaints, and subsequent removals of books from Florida primary, middle, or high schools libraries — were made by a single person.

“The most substantial district lists appear in Clay and Indian River. Only one individual initiated these removals in each district,” reads the organisation’s statement.

“What was lost? The Storyteller, a novel that covers the generational trauma of the Holocaust, by Jodi Picoult was removed from all “Library Media” in Indian River due to “the material depicts or describes sexual conduct…’.

“In Clay, more than 70 titles by Stephen King, including his memoir, On Writing, were among their list of 570 titles submitted by their lone objector.”

Dept of Education says ‘far left activists are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians’

A spokesperson for Florida’s department of education said in a statement to The Associated Press that there were no books being banned in the state, and defended the push to remove “sexually explicit materials” from schools.

“Once again, far left activists are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians. The better question is why do these activists continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit materials?”