PVLF 2025

Book Publishers Challenge Unconstitutional Book Ban Law With Lawsuit

Publishers and authors are challenging a Florida law restricting school library books, arguing it leads to unconstitutional censorship and limits free expression.
on Aug 30, 2024

A group of book publishers and accomplished writers have initiated a legal objection to the 2023 Florida law that allows challenges to books in school libraries.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando, asserts that the procedure for removing books from school libraries outlined in HB 1069 is too extensive and has had a discouraging effect.

The lawsuit names members of the Florida Board of Education and Orange and Volusia County school board members as defendants.

HB 1069 has empowered parents to request the removal of materials from schools if school boards determine them to be pornographic or to contain sexual content, in line with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “parental rights” agenda.

The publishers and authors are requesting the court to declare the state’s interpretation of “pornographic” and content that “describes sexual conduct” as unconstitutional.

“The State has ordered that school districts implement a system of strict censorship in school libraries,” the plaintiffs argued in a 93-page complaint. “HB 1069 requires school districts to remove library books without considering their literary, artistic, political, scientific, or educational value as a whole.”

The plaintiffs are Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishing Group, Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks, and the Authors Guild, in addition to authors Julia Alvarez, John Green, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas.

Two parents, one from Orange and the other from Volusia, have joined the lawsuit, contending that their children should be allowed to access books that have been removed due to challenges permitted by the law.

They argue that the law does not specify a level or amount of detail to determine if a book “describes sexual conduct.”

“The term ‘describes sexual conduct’ is so broad that it would require removal of the Oxford English Dictionary — which defines ‘sex’ as ‘physical activity between two people in which they touch each other’s sexual organs, and which may include sexual intercourse’ — from school libraries. However, the Oxford English Dictionary is not obscene,” the lawsuit states.

“This vagueness and ambiguity result in overly broad interpretations of [the law’s] prohibition on content that describes sexual conduct and chill protected speech.”

In an email response to the Phoenix, Department of Education communications director Sydney Booker said the lawsuit is a “stunt.”

“There are no banned books in Florida. Sexually explicit material and instruction are not appropriate for schools,” she stated.

The publishers urge the state government to refrain from interfering, even in school libraries.

“Authors have the right to communicate their ideas to students without undue interference from the government,” the plaintiffs wrote. “Students have a corresponding right to receive those ideas. Publishers and educators connect authors to students. If the State of Florida dislikes an author’s idea, it can offer a competing message. It cannot suppress the disfavored message.”

‘Not remotely obscene’
The plaintiffs argue that they do not aim to prevent schools from ensuring school libraries do not contain obscene materials. Instead, their concern lies with removing books deemed to be “pornographic that are not remotely obscene resulting from the Florida State Board of Education’s unconstitutional construction of the term ‘pornographic.'”

The plaintiffs list several books they believe should not have been deemed inappropriate by school boards, including Alvarez’s “How the García Girls Lost Their Accents,” Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” Anderson’s “Speak,” Picoult’s “Nineteen Minutes” and “Change of Heart,” and Thomas’s “Concrete Rose” and “The Hate U Give.”

“As publishers dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and the right to read, the increase in book bans throughout the country necessitates our collective action,” the publishers stated in a coordinated announcement.

“Challenging unconstitutional legislation in Florida and beyond is an urgent priority. We are unwavering in our support for educators, librarians, students, authors, readers — everyone deserves access to books and stories that present different perspectives and viewpoints.”

The publishers have also taken Iowa to court over a similar law and questioned the constitutionality of book removals in Escambia County.