Santa Rosa schools enter book ban feud with 14 books challenged so far
After seemingly spending the majority of the 2022-2023 school year above the fray, Santa Rosa County District Schools has now been pulled into the national book-banning controversy.
Santa Rosa County Superintendent Karen Barber addressed the issue in a Facebook post Thursday, reporting the district received its first formal book complaint on May 23 and, as of Thursday, had 14 books on its challenge list.
Barber's note to families explained the District’s review processes, the impact of new state legislation and said the district is dedicated to "providing appropriate materials to our students."
“In both classroom and school libraries, the goal is to foster a love of reading in our students – not to expose them to inappropriate content,” Barber wrote.
In Escambia County: Why this Escambia County mom is suing her daughters' school district
Dig deeper: 100+ 'questionable' books placed in restricted section while Escambia schools review them
Barber's statement noted the district likely has over 1 million books circulating in classroom libraries and media centers that have been accumulated over decades.
Upon receiving a formal complaint that the content of a book may be inappropriate for students, a decision is made to keep or remove the challenged book for each individual school that the book is found in, rather than making an overarching district-wide decision. This way, a book can be removed from middle school libraries, but stay in high school libraries, and so on, depending on factors such as age appropriateness.
So far, the school district has removed 10 of the 14 challenged books from one or more schools in the first stage of the district's book review process. Additionally, nine books of the 14 books are in "quarantine" at all district schools while officials wait to see if they meet the criteria of House Bill 1069, new legislation that goes into effect Saturday.
None of the 14 challenged books have been approved to stay on any shelves within the school district.
"In light of recent statutory changes (House Bill 1069) that become effective on July 1, 2023, our School Board Policy 4.22 will be revised in the coming weeks," Barber wrote. "Nonetheless, even prior to any change in School Board Policy 4.22, our District will implement the requirement that any material that is subject to an objection on the basis that it is pornographic or prohibited under F.S. 847.012 or depicts or describes sexual conduct be removed within 5 school days of receipt of the objection and remain unavailable to students until the objection is resolved (except for those materials that are exempt from this provision under Florida law)."
Neighboring Escambia County Public Schools began compiling its book challenge list in late 2022 after Escambia County’s Language Arts Department Chair at Northview High School Vicki Baggett reported over 100 books for inappropriate content. Escambia’s list has since reached 215 challenged books.
Now, Baggett has moved on to Santa Rosa County schools where she has reported half of the books on the challenge list. The other half has been reported on behalf of the conservative parents' rights group Moms for Liberty, specifically Santa Rosa County Chapter Chair Mariya Calkins.
Book publisher sues Escambia over bans: Why this Escambia County mom is suing her daughters' school district
Moms for Liberty wants 65 books removed: Book ban controversy comes to Santa Rosa as Moms for Liberty seeks removal of 65 books
The 14 challenged books are:
"Crank" by Ellen Hopkins
"Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
"Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
"Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins
"Twisted" by Laurie Anderson
"Zahra’s Paradise" by Khalil Amir
"Relish: My Life in the Kitchen" by Lucy Knisley
"Fun Home: Family Tragicomic" by Alison Bechdel
"American Psycho" by Brett Ellis
"All Your Perfects" by Colleen Hoover
"Push" by Sapphire
"Empire of Storms" by Sarah J. Maas
"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
"Boy Toy" by Barry Lyga
Complainants claimed some of the books promoted sexual stimulation in minors and worked as an “attempt to addict minors to deviant behavior and porn.”
The debate over which books should or not stay on the shelves has spilled into social media discourse, school board meetings and even last week’s Santa Rosa County commission meeting.
Calkins’ husband, Commissioner James Calkins, brought forward the motion to remove the "pornographic" books, but was shut down by his fellow commissioners for interfering with school board business. Chants of “censorship” and “tyrant” were targeted at the dais, and the public forum was ended prematurely due to the chaos and shouting that unfolded.
"Mr. Calkins, I'd ask that in the future you stick to issues important to what our elected duty is in Santa Rosa County, in regard to infrastructure, in regard to recreation, things like that," Commission Chairmen Colten Wright told Calkins. "Let's try to stay off of national political hot button issues."
In her Facebook message, Barber encouraged Santa Rosa School District families and citizens not to lose sight of the overall success of the school district.
“As we approach the start of the 2023-2024 school year, I also want to recognize the hard work and dedication of our School Board, administrators, teachers, support personnel, parents, guardians, students, volunteers and community members,” Barber wrote. “Santa Rosa County District Schools is one of only 14 academically high performing school districts in the entire state of Florida.”
The full text of Barber's message is available at facebook.com/santarosacountydistrictschools/.
The next Santa Rosa County District School Board meeting is at 10 a.m. on July 24 at the Canal Street board room.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida book ban: Santa Rosa County District Schools remove 10 books
