Amanda Gorman's book restricted in one school, not banned county-wide | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Miami-Dade County banned Amanda Gorman's book, 'The Hill We Climb,' from elementary schools

A May 26 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) features an image of poet Amanda Gorman.

"FLORIDA FASCISM," reads text within the post. "Miami-Dade County has banned the poem read by Amanda Gorman during President Biden's inauguration from elementary schools following the objection of a single parent."

The post garnered more than 900 likes in a week. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and numerous websites.

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Our rating: False

Gorman's book wasn't banned from all elementary schools in Miami-Dade County. It was moved to the middle school library at one K-8 school, where it is still accessible to some elementary school students upon request.

Book only moved at one school, not banned

A mother of two students at Bob Graham Education Center in Miami, Florida, filed a complaint in March about five books in the school's library that she said weren't age-appropriate and contained "indirect hate messages," according to the Miami Herald. Gorman's "The Hill We Climb," a poem she read at President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential inauguration that was later turned into a short book, was one of the five books.

In response to the complaint, a school materials review committee comprised of several Bob Graham teachers and administrators deemed the book "more appropriate" for middle schoolers and moved it to the middle school section of the school's media center.

However, the book wasn't banned from all elementary schools in the district, as the post claims.

Fact check: False claim masses of books in Florida school were removed for being 'inappropriate'

The Miami-Dade Public School District debunked the online claims on Facebook and Twitter.

"In order to ensure accurate information, @MDCPS is compelled to clarify that the book titled, 'The Hill We Climb,' by @TheAmandaGorman was never banned or removed from one of our schools," reads the district's statement. "The book is available in the media center as part of the middle grades collection."

The district included a similar statement in a letter sent to parents, according to NBC 6, a local news outlet in South Florida.

In a May 24 Instagram post, Bob Graham Education Center said it wanted to "clarify that the story being spread is inaccurate."

"The book in question is actually available in our media center and intended for our students," reads the post.

Ana Rhodes, a spokesperson for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, told The Washington Post that elementary students would have to request the book from a media specialist and prove they read at a fifth-grade level to read the book.

USA TODAY reached out to the Miami-Dade Office of Communications and the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The claim has also been debunked by Lead Stories, Poynter, PolitiFact and Check Your Fact.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amanda Gorman's book moved, not banned in Florida county | Fact check