Ahead of Tuesday’s Escambia County School Board meeting, about a dozen protestors gathered outside the J.E. Hall Center for the “Bring Back Our Books” rally highlighting the challenged books in school libraries that have been removed or restricted in the district.
There are 163 books in Escambia County Public School libraries that are still inaccessible to students while under review. Since ECPS received its first book challenge in June 2022, there have only been 23 decisions made. To date, there is a total of224 citizen challenges. The latest, "Kingsbane" by Claire Legrand, was added Wednesday.
“This has been going on for too long,” said Lilly Eubanks, a retired teacher and co-organizer of the “Bring Back Our Books” rally. “What people don't realize is that a lot of these are books that were written by members of the LGBTQ community or people of color, and they are about the struggle — Struggles for equality that those people have gone through.”
Linda McCreary held a sign her granddaughter made that said “Bring Back Our Books” with the quote “A book is a gift you can open again and again.”
“I’m out here for freedom,” she said. “No one should be denied access to books.”
During the public comment period of the meeting, several protestors read titles and authors of books that are still in “book jail,” as protestors called it.
Titles include “It Ends With Us,” by Colleen Hoover, “Red, White, and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston, “Forever” by Judy Blume, and “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, to name a few.
In March, a settlement was reached between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys that changed how the controversial law, HB 1557, known around the country as “Don’t Say Gay,” can be used to challenge books in schools. Under the settlement agreement, it was clarified that the law does not apply to library books that are not being used for curriculum. Also, the law cannot be applied to books with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples.
The settlement was considered a victory for those against the book challenges, including plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit against Escambia County School District, but the law still has a “chilling effect on free speech,” said Linda Fussell, a leading advocate to reinstate challenged books.
“I was pleased to see 20 or so books that had been challenged under HB 1557 return to the shelves in the past weeks,” she said at the meeting. “What was a great disappointment was the fact that the books still remain under challenge. Why? Can’t you be empowered to say nothing in the law makes these books inappropriate for the library and reject the objections?”
But that was just one law. Florida HB 1069, which took effect July 1, required books considered to be potentially sexually explicit or pornographic to be removed from schools within five days. However, the definition of sexual conduct is vague, leading to most challenged books being pulled. Book review committees have yet to be reinstated. ECPS spokesperson Cody Strother told the Pensacola News Journal that the district is “in the process of determining a timeframe.”
Vicki Baggett, an Escambia County English teacher responsible for hundreds of book challenges, has been a constant speaker during public comment. Tuesday night, she took the podium to alert the board of two children’s books that depict LGBTQ+ characters including “Bathe the Cat,” about a family with two dads, and “Milo Imagines the World,” which shows an illustration of two women getting married.
“Who decided it was the right thing to do to put these back on the shelf and make these available for our elementary children?” said Baggett.
Parents and teachers alike have been concerned that one person can be responsible for hundreds of books removed.
“One person should not have all the power,” said Rose Coon, an ESE teacher in Escambia County. “It’s ridiculous.”
Eubanks and other protestors say they want to see some "forward movement" in the book review process.
"The school board has just been letting things glide," she said. "Over 200 books have been off the shelves for almost two years
On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Pensacola to highlight HB 1285, which simplifies the pathway for a low-performing public school to become a charter school, establishes the Purple Star School District Program, and addresses book challenge processes in school districts.
The law limits those without children in a particular school district to one challenge per month and prevents activists from making “bad-faith objections.” It does not include language about the backlog of book challenges across the state.