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Judge Denies Motion To Dismiss Escambia ‘Book Ban’ Lawsuit
January 11, 2024
A federal judge on Wednesday denied a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit that alleges the Escambia County School District violated free speech by removing and restricting library books.
U.S. District Judge Kent Wetherell issued the ruling in the federal lawsuit against the Escambia County School board.
“Today, we urged the court to vindicate the Constitutional rights of students, parents, authors and publishers. We are heartened that Judge Wetherell agreed and that our case can proceed. These books need to be returned to the shelves where they belong, and every day that students are refused access is a day they’re not getting the high-quality education they deserve. This case cuts to the heart of who we are as a country, and for the sake of our children and the future of our democracy, it’s critical that we adhere to the language of the First Amendment and the precedents of our federal courts,” said Katie Blankenship, director of PEN America’s Florida office..
Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, PEN America, a “free expression organization”, and several individuals allege Escambia County schools have violated the First Amendment by setting out to remove or restrict access to books discussing race, racism, and LGBTQ identities, against the recommendations of the district review committee charged with evaluating book challenges.
The Escambia County District filed a motion in Pensacola federal court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming recently enacted state law, HB 1069, shields the district and that the district is empowered to decide which book to allow or remove.
The board also contended the restriction or removal of books from school libraries “does not create a constitutional injury”.
Judge Wetherell urged the parties to settle the case in mediation rather than moving forward in court.
Pictured: The Northview High School media center on August 10, 2023, the first day of school. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
31 Responses to “Judge Denies Motion To Dismiss Escambia ‘Book Ban’ Lawsuit”
Seems I remember some earlier book banning in Europe around the 1930’s. What could go wrong?
Those poor kids will never have enough information to think for themselves. They will have to learn in the back streets and from peer pressure which basically means – when the get turned loose – they’re going to be crazy
I don’t mean to kink shame, but if you really believe that a picture book about penguins is “pornographic”, you’re kinda outing yourself.
Even Bill O’Reilly thinks this law is bad.
O’Reilly said Friday.: “You can’t be throwing John Grisham under the bus, it’s absurd.”
And if Bill O’Reilly thinks it’s bad, it must be bad, right?
As with many topics of importance; how far will they go?
Just to be clear, there is not any pornography in any of the Florida public school libraries.
I, for one, have a son in this age bracket and I do not want him exposed to porn of any type. His phone is locked down as well as any parent can. For those of you equating the edgy “literature” of yesteryear with the garbage in question, I believe times have changed and not for the better. This filth doesn’t belong in schools. If a parent wants to expose their kids to this, Amazon or B&N delivers whatever smut you want. Those of us who want to avoid it have as much a right to parent as we see fit as you do. Post-18, agree, whatever floats an adult’s boat.
As a school child I volunteered in the library and I knew every nasty book. My group of friends would compete on who could find the dirtiest book in the library. And we all turned out republican and straight. Stop banning books. This is more childish than the children you call yourself protecting.
this is what happens when trump picks and deSantis agrees —our children have one of the lowest grade averages in the US–republicans DID this — I guess the goal is lower than Ms.
When people keep throwing up that the children can see it on their cell phones are on a computer, well for one thing it wouldn’t be because of a school library had it at our child’s hands. That is what the problem is with this. Most of those books have awful ugly words in the school library and porn that has no right to be in the school’s library. I can’t believe at all the grown people that doesn’t have a sense of love in their heart for precious children to want them to see such fifth in the school library. I am so sad to see that you have been raised to not care.
Ban some things and it always leads to more. These discussions started with alleged inappropriate material for young readers and then quickly transitioned into material that parents are just uncomfortable talking about at ANY age.
Ask many minority children and they learn and hear most derogatory words, not from the books they read at school but from their classmates whose parents send them to school with the illusion that they’re sheltered.
Those kids deserve to be protected and being protected means being educated at school and at home. With the literacy in the south being so low, going backwards is NOT the answer, Reading is fundamental.
Phew! We’re really dodging the bullets of moral decay by keeping our kids from being exposed to the likes of JD Salinger and Toni Morrison! Personally, I think we’re not doing enough to restrict independent thought. Get rid of all history, math, and especially civics books. Only the bible! Once we completely make sure nobody has a worldview that scares us because it’s different, everything else will be easy.
8 dictionaries are on the list. That is absurd and the height of ignorance.
Florida freedumb!
The sexualization of young children is wrong regardless of the claimed cause.
Unless every book that was ever written is put into the Escambia county school libraries then we are batting books.
@Aaron This isn’t a religious extremism debate. This is a moral and ethical debate concerning age-appropriate material and parenting rights. History repeatedly reveals the core manipulative and strategical tactics of extremism is to slander and label those with differing views as the extremist.
Frank & mom guess u better take the internet out of y’all house then and I bet ur kids play on line with there friends kids share more then u every know I’m not saying porn is right In middle school u can’t shelter ur kids for ever from dealing with my 3 middle school and high to having one in college now and girl in high school my kids didn’t have cell phones in middle school like a lot of them does now and ur right I don’t go to the county website do y’all think kids at school that has phones doesn’t show other kids stuff u want to talk about a bumpy ride then go look how this world is now so ps mom don’t come at me talking about how to raise kids my son has 4 years of college paid my other son got a trade
Religious extremism has no place in public schools.
Another victory for freedom of speech.
Two thumbs up.
Everybody knows who is on the right side of history with this. Even the far left wackos trying to place these crap books into our schools knows deep down who is on the right side of history with this……and it isn’t them!
To Big Jim and A.W. I whole heartedly agree! Children’s minds are just like a sponge: it absorbs and retains every thing placed before it, and their attitudes and their personality is directly influenced by all of it.
There are millions of published works. No physical library, especially a school library, can hold them all, so any collection will always be a curated subset of available books. The titles in question don’t belong in a local public school library any more than the Anarchist Cookbook, Mein Kampf, or the Communist Manifesto. The specific titles that some people want added speaks volumes about the soceity they wish to curate through the manipulation of young minds.
Put the Holy Bible back in all schools,courthouses and libraries.A.W.Thompson
Why do these people want to push age-inappropriate things on children?
I am all about freedom of speech, but there has to be a line drawn where freedom of speech is one thing and pure filth is entirely another. It is true that kids can be exposed to garbage through other media, but the educational program should not be one of them. America needs to have at least one bastion left in place that is an example to our precious youth where the garbage of this world doesn’t pollute their minds and they can at least receive enough education to be able to navigate themselves through life.
To J do you not understand just because some or most kids are walking around with cell phones not ALL are!!! Some parents are trying to raise their kids right. I don’t want my kid exposed to porn in a middle school library just because some idiot thinks it’s okay because all kids have cellphones. It is ridiculous that this is even being discussed. If this nation can’t even protect its babies then we better buckle up buttercup because it’s about to be a bumpy ride.
Why be upset? I go to the library enough to know that there are no tables of youngsters or teens as there were years ago. Unless it is required reading, I doubt reading is high on the students list of things to do anymore.
J, evidently you have not been to the county web sight to see these books banned. Kids may have cell phones but Pornography is against the law for kids. And some are blatant Porno.
To both Steve and neighbor do y’all both not understand that these kids has a cell phone with the internet
It really doesn’t matter what’s on the shelf, kids are going to see, hear and learn all about what is in books through life experiences and we as parents can only try to teach them right from wrong, but ultimately it will be their choice. We were once judged by some hypocrite of being from a different yoke, this person(s) only thought they knew my family! Let us not judge but be judged. I think the person making these racist comments to these kids at school and giving kids percentages on their academic grade for purchasing Boston butts from one’s father should be judged/fired/sued!!. Maybe she/he is of a different yoke!!
Filth and smut need to say out of schools .. Plenty of time for that garbage in college. But the warping of minds is all one group seems to want.
Satan is the author of CONFUSION! If These people are confused about what’s going on here, guess who is leading them. It is a parents decision to teach this type of material to their children when they feel the child is ready. Teach them the Bible at home and these issues will be addressed at home as well. Schools, libraries or no other place besides the childs home is where this topics need to be taught. When they are mentally capable of truly understanding.