Publishers and Authors Are Suing Over the Florida Book Ban Law

Major publishers sue Florida, claiming its book law violates free speech, targeting works with LGBTQ+, racial, or sexual content. Florida denies banning books.

on Sep 02, 2024

On Thursday, major book publishers, including Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, filed a lawsuit arguing that the Florida law violates the First Amendment rights to free speech.
The lawsuit lists several books that have been taken out of school libraries under the law, including works by well-known authors Maya Angelou and Ernest Hemingway. Officials in Florida dismissed the lawsuit, calling it a "stunt," and denied that the state has banned books. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education, Sydney Booker, stated, "There are no books banned in Florida. Sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for schools."

At the centre of the lawsuit is a bill passed in Florida last year that requires schools to establish a process for parents to object to certain books found in libraries or classrooms.
The bill defines removable books as those that "depict or describe sexual conduct" or are "inappropriate for the grade level and age group" of students in the school.

According to a report released in April by Pen America, a non-profit advocating for free speech, Florida recorded 3,135 book bans from July 2021 to December 2023 - the highest in the country.
Pen America has stated that the majority of removed books are those that "discuss LGBTQ+ identities, include characters of colour, address race and racism, and depict sexual experiences in the broadest interpretation."

Among the removed books are Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, and Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
Bestselling authors such as John Green and Jodi Picoult, along with parents opposed to Florida's law, have also joined the publishers' lawsuit. The lawsuit argues that the state law allows schools to prohibit books without consulting "trained professionals, such as teachers or media specialists, to determine which books are appropriate."

It also contends that some schools have banned books that include the phrase "made love" without considering the context of the entire book. These restrictions "apply to all grades, kindergarten through twelfth grade," according to the lawsuit, which argues that the law has created a "regime of strict censorship" in schools.
In an interview with CBS News, Judi Hayes, a Florida mother involved in the lawsuit, said the law has hindered her son's ability to learn.

"We're not talking about Playboy magazine, you know, we're talking about Anna Karenina and War and Peace," Ms. Hayes said. The lawsuit seeks to amend the law and names Ben Gibson, chair of the Florida State Board of Education, and other school board members as defendants.

In April, Mr DeSantis signed a bill that restricts objections to books in Florida schools, saying he is trying to “prevent abuse from activists” who have used the law to challenge books like The Giver and the Bible. “I think what's happened is you have some people who are taking the curriculum transparency, and they're trying to weaponize that for political purposes," he said at a news conference that month. Under the new rules, Florida residents without children can object to only one book per month. Those with children will continue to have an unlimited number of challenges.