Yes let’s put the LGBTQ+ hater who demands control over everyone’s children in charge of what books should be removed from libraries. That is like putting a fundamentalist religious extremist in charge of women’s rights. Hugs. Scottie
Some of Florida’s loudest advocates for public school book removals make up half of a state government-sponsored group to advise school districts on how to select titles and when to pull them off shelves.
Moms for Liberty members made up three of six members of a Department of Education workgroup that met Thursday in Tallahassee to redevelop an online training program for school librarians and media specialists following a 2023 state law focused on book challenges.
It’s a demonstration of the state’s willingness to cater to the conservative group, which has long supported Gov. Ron DeSantis and, along with its local chapters, has become the leading voice against books in schools that it considers inappropriate.
“It’s evident that the Florida Department of Education is not ready to turn a corner and start tamping down on the gross censorship we’re seeing across the state,” said Stephana Ferrell, co-founder and director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a book access advocacy organization.
Ferrell had applied to be a part of the workgroup. So did more than 20 others, according to resumes her group received through a public records request. Most, like Ferrell herself, weren’t picked.
Instead, the department selected Priscilla West, chair of Moms For Liberty-Leon County, Moms for Liberty Indian River County Chapter Chair Jennifer Pippin and Jamie Merchant, Florida legislative chair for the national parents’ group.
West and Pippin, in an interview after the meeting in the state Department of Education building, emphasized their role as parents, not just Moms for Liberty representatives.
“Organizations aside, at the end of the day, we’re parents, we’re moms and we’re concerned with what we’re finding in the schools,” Pippin said.
And they were also concerned with the meeting itself, which lasted approximately only an hour. Advocates on both sides of the book debate said it didn’t do enough to clarify the expectations for schools.
Meet the Moms for Liberty on the librarian training workgroup
As previously reported by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, West’s group is working to remove a number of books from school libraries.
“Good Evening, Joyful Warriors!” she wrote in an email to members last year. “We are rockin’ and rollin’ with these book challenges!”
In the lead-up to Thursday’s meeting, the Facebook page for West’s chapter made a multitude of posts soliciting parents to challenge various titles with sexual and LGBTQ material.
When a commenter responded that transgender students deserve to see themselves represented in books, the account ridiculed gender transitions.
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Pippin, meanwhile, made many headlines for her school book challenges. One of them was about a children’s book, called “Unicorns Are The Worst,” that showed the bare behind of a goblin. As a result of her challenge, clothes were drawn over the goblin.
She also got “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” pulled from a Indian River County high school.
Merchant, the Moms for Liberty Florida legislative chair, was previously reported as a “Mamas for DeSantis” participant, a pro-DeSantis initiative launched during his gubernatorial reelection campaign in 2022. The conservative education reform-focused Florida Citizens Alliance lists her on its website as a member of its advisory council.
In an emailed statement, Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, said, “We are glad that our members are taking an interest in public schools and public policy in education.”
The other three members were made up of media specialists from Republican-dominated Marion, Manatee and Wakulla counties.
‘We shoud err on the side of freedom’: Meeting leaves all sides disappointed
Both Pippin and Merchant had been in the original workgroup, which was formed after DeSantis signed the Republican-backed Curriculum Transparency Act in 2022, which he touted as a way to increase parental involvement in education and prevent “indoctrination.”
The law requires districts to catalog every book they offer and put a formal review process in place for complaints.
The original online training program, which came out at the beginning of 2023, contained a slide that warned educators to “err on the side of caution” with their book choices. Another slide pointed out that school officials could be charged with a third-degree felony if materials are found harmful to minors under an older state law.
School districts interpreted the guidance in wildly varying ways, leading some to pull hundreds of titles out of fear of potential penalties, and others to pull none. A national free speech advocacy group recently ranked Florida No.1 in “book bans,” a much-debated term to describe the books pulled from public schools.
The workgroup didn’t alter that original presentation wording, much to the disappointment of a Florida Education Association representative who spoke during the public comment period of the meeting.
“We should err on the side of freedom. We should err on the side of education, not on the side of caution,” said Luke Flynt, communication specialist for the teachers union.
Instead, the group discussed the incorporation of yet another book challenge law into the training. The measure makes it easier to get a challenged book removed for “sexual conduct.”
Much of the meeting, which was not broadcast virtually, was dominated by the complexities of the new law.
Members agreed on adding a new slide about the new objection criteria, which includes requiring that a book be removed within five days of a challenge because it includes pornography or “sexual conduct” and until the complaint is resolved. They also OK’d adding audio to a slide about book selection criteria explaining that people can file sexual conduct objections.
Despite having an agenda predicting the meeting would last much of the day, it started and ended in about an hour.
Pippin and West said they would have liked more time. The meeting, they said, could have been a virtual meeting or email.
“My anticipation was to do the work and discuss other things,” said Pippin, who added that she had woken up at 3 a.m. to make it to the meeting, which was attended by and steered by Department of Education employees. “I probably had five or 10 more questions I could have asked, but I saw they kept redirecting to (the new state law).”
She pointed out a recent press conference from DeSantis where, citing frivolous objections, he called for limits to how many books the public can challenge in schools. The Legislature passed a bill this past session, which the governor has not yet signed, that states a “resident of the county who is not the parent or guardian of a student with access to school district materials may not object to more than one material per month.”
Ferrell also said the group should have done more, such as including information about the settlement from earlier in the week between the state and LGBTQ groups over the critic-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricts classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation. Some school districts had pulled books citing the law.
But the settlement, in part, comes with a statement from the state that the law does not affect library books (something that had already been said by Attorney General Ashley Moody in legal filings).
Ferrell said she doesn’t believe the training properly explains the new law and only adds to the confusion: “They will encourage more removals,” she warned.
It’s unclear if the group will convene again.
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA TODAY Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com.
Priscilla West, chair of Moms For Liberty-Leon County, is in the group.
“Good Evening, Joyful Warriors!” wrote West in an email to members last year. “We are rockin' and rollin' with these book challenges!”https://t.co/y5CXRMopFc
Moms for Liberty members make up half of a group to advise Florida school districts on how to select titles and when to pull them off of shelves. https://t.co/TGjxvih9DC
It is a case of I don’t want my child to read these books so your child can’t read them either. These people want control over everyone, every child, they demand to rule your life. Hugs. Scottie
Hundreds of new books featuring characters of color and LGBTQ+ themes were found by the trash at a Staten Island elementary school, outraging some parents and sparking an education department investigation.
Gothamist obtained photos from a Brooklyn book lover that showed boxes of kids’ books left with the garbage at PS 55, known as the Henry Boehm School. Some had sticky notes on them detailing themes and content in the books, which appeared to be part of a 2019 initiative to diversify school materials. The city education department launched an investigation after Gothamist shared the images.
A note on “My Two Border Towns,” about a boy’s life on the United States-Mexico border, read “Our country has no room and it’s not fair.” A note on “The Derby Daredevils,” about a girls’ roller derby team, read “Not approved. Discusses dad being transgender. Teenage girls having a crush on another girl in class.” And a note on “We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know” read “negative slant on white people.”
A note on a copy of “My Two Border Towns” taken from the school reads “Our country has no room and it’s not fair.”
Holly Spiegel
Even books about the Marvel Comics hero Black Panther and legendary singer and activist Nina Simone were discarded.
It was unclear whether the removal of the books resulted from an objection raised by staff or parents. The education department said no formal challenge to the books was raised through official channels, though a part-time librarian had inquired about the process.
Until this incident, New York City had seemed largely immune from the high-profile efforts to ban books that are roiling school communities in Florida, New Jersey and other parts of the country.
“Our public schools do not shy away from books that teach students about the diverse people and communities that make up the fabric of our society,” education department spokesperson Nicole Brownstein said, noting the removal of the books was not sanctioned.
The school principal and PTA president did not respond to inquiries.
Many PS 55 parents were surprised to learn the books had been removed.
The education department said it was investigating why the books were discarded from the PS 55 library.
Jessica Gould
“I don’t believe in banning books at all,” said Angela Hartje, whose daughter is in third grade.
“It’s one step closer to ‘Fahrenheit 451,’” she added, referencing the classic sci-fi novel by Ray Bradbury about a dystopian America where books have been outlawed.
‘Not approved’
Holly Spiegel, of East Flatbush, alerted Gothamist to the controversy. Her neighbor, who was working near the school in November, retrieved hundreds of the books from the trash and gave them to Spiegel, knowing she could use them for the free “Little Libraries” she manages around their neighborhood. Spiegel then got in touch with the school and made two additional trips where she recovered hundreds more books in boxes marked “not approved.”
Sticky notes on the books pointed to apparent reasons why they were censored. A note on “Julian Is A Mermaid,” about a boy who dresses as a mermaid, read “Boy questions gender.” A post-it on “Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story,” cited a specific page, along with the question “white man’s world?”
A copy of “Derby Daredevils” had a note reading “Not approved. Discusses being transgender. Teenage girls having a crush on another girl in class.”
Holly Spiegel
Notes on pages of “Black Panther: The Young Prince” read “Witchcraft? Human skulls” and “Pact with Devil. Burned in fire.”
A note on “Nina: A Story of Nina Simone” read “This is about how black people were treated poorly but overcame it. (Can go both ways).”
“At its heart, this feels like censorship,” Spiegel said. “It feels like book banning.”
City statistics show the student body at PS 55 is 78% white, 11% Hispanic and 8% Asian. The teachers are 92% white.
Two parents at the school, located in Staten Island’s Eltingville neighborhood, said they had heard rumblings about some controversy over books. But Gothamist was unable to confirm who led the effort that led to the books being tossed.
An unusual book battle
School controversies over books are rare in New York City. Since 2019, there have been only three challenges of books at other schools under an official protocol that involves the formation of a committee of parents, librarians, teachers and administrators, the education department confirmed. None of those books were removed.
“Should a parent feel concerned about the literature in their child’s classroom, they are encouraged to reach out to the teacher, principal, or superintendent,” said Brownstein, the department’s spokesperson.
It’s more common for discussions in the city to focus on ensuring access to the materials. The Brooklyn Public Library runs a program where local students talk about controversial books with students in other parts of the country where they’re actually being banned.
Alissa Barakakos, a PTA member at PS 55, said she was surprised that books about race, culture and sexuality had been removed — and that she would have opposed the effort if she’d known about it. She noted her son’s class just finished a series of discussions on Black History Month, and a unit on Native Americans.
“I don’t know why the books would be thrown out,” Barakakos said. “I want my kid to be a part of the school community where everything is open and honest and kids are being educated.”
Spiegel said she was upset to see the books were kept from children. “The books aren’t getting into the hands of kids who would identify with the characters, but they’re also not getting into the hands of kids whose worldview would be broadened by reading about people who aren’t like them,” she said.
‘Mosaic’ problems
Some of the boxes Spiegel retrieved were labeled “Mosaic,” the name of a $200 million initiative launched late in the de Blasio administration to diversify school lessons and materials. An analysis by the New York City Coalition for Educational Justice found in 2019 that only 16% of elementary and middle school books were by authors of color.
“Black Panther: The Young Prince” was also removed from the Staten Island elementary school.
Holly Spiegel
De Blasio called for a total rethinking of the K-12 curriculum with an eye toward diversity. Mayor Eric Adams then scaled back the Mosaic plan, launching his own literacy initiative and supplementing lessons with materials reflecting LGBTQ+, Asian American and Black communities.
Thousands of Mosaic books were still sent to school and classroom libraries. But Natasha Capers, the director of the Coalition for Educational Justice, said schools received little guidance about what to do with the new books.
“They just were like, ‘here’s a big box of books,’” said Capers, whose group advocates for more equity in public schools.
She added that she was glad to know the books found with the garbage at PS 55 were “rescued.” But she said she was outraged to hear they had nearly been discarded.
“I watched my children throughout their schooling read so many books that used horrific language about Black people,” Capers said. “There’s a book [that] used the N-word. You just had to suck it up because it’s part of the ‘canon.'”
She scoffed at the apparent discomfort with witchcraft and human skulls in the Black Panther book.
“You read Shakespeare, and [“Macbeth”] starts out with three witches around a cauldron,” she said. “Hamlet,” she noted, “is legitimately talking to a skull.”
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Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email jgould@nypublicradio.org
Republican Clay Higgins went from being, in my opinion as racist cop and a bully, to a Congressman who bullies others. Bayou Brief Black parents warn their sons about cops like this guy.
I appreciate all points of view on my channel. However, when they get ugly, I have to remove those comments. If you disagree with me, great!! That’s how we get a good dialogue going. I don’t allow misinformation, and if you find that I have misspoke or was flat out wrong about something, I usually recheck my info and find that Snopes.com usually has both the conspiracy theories or whatever and gives the correct info. When some attack me, it’s not a problem, depending on how bad it is, if it is really bad it will be taken down. so don’t be afraid to correct me. We all make mistakes, and sometimes, stroke brain gets it wrong. I love, be safe, and take care of you 💗
*I found mire info, and there is some discrepancy and weather the Mom knew he was armed. I believe she knew because there were pictures of him before the BLM protests that WERE on his Facebook page. Apparently, his friend bought the weapon for him because he was underage, but she still knew what she was driving him into*
Drag King Kari seems to believe life begins at conception and thinks the 1864 law should prevail. Now that she is catching on that the script Trump gave her to memorize, lost her the election in 202. She is trying on trump’s revamped stance now that the Arizona Supreme Court handed down the Handmaid’s Gilead law.
Pierre Poilievre, the opposition leader of the Canadian Conservative Party, is reading Trump’s script almost verbatim! Both are Pro-Life, both are union busters, and they both think that immigrants are stealing our jobs and driving down wages! NOT TRUE! We have a federal minimum wage. It just went up to $17.30 as of April 1st. Server wage is $16.30/hr.
As I was listening to this video I was reading a reply from Roger deteremineddespitewp and we were talking about regional conflicts and the cycles of conflict and hate. I will post Roger’s grand comment and then the video from Beau. Hugs. Scottie BTW if you want to read the entire discussion which I recommend it is on this post.
Oh Scottie you could loose track on become very depressed trying to compile a list of what are termed genocides, adding civilian deaths through wars, reprisal killings, mass communal violence, deaths through prejudice and on and on. By the time you’d finish you’d be thinking ‘Well at least conventional war on a battlefield is honest and upfront,’ Where and how to start to put a stop to this frustrates me, because I keep coming up with ‘knocking heads together’ solutions which kind of defeats the whole purpose. rawgod gave me a challenge to write out a story where in 2643 Humanity finally quit this violence ‘kick’….. I had to write it from a sci-fi perspective it was my only way.
My problem is, as long as I can think back I’ve always hated prejudice and violence that goes with it, which in turns causes my own violent solutions, try as I might that idea still bubbles up. And actually that is something of a sin in true Christian terms.
You, like rawgod, Jill and Keith are so right we should learn, force ourselves to work together. These constant wars which pit communities against each other only leave a legacy of bitterness for another generation to feed off. Take an extreme example of WWII. When the fighting had ceased some nations who had engaged in Total War just put down the guns and said ‘OK. That’s over. Some will have to pay for starting it, but as for the rest. OK.’ UK & USA did that with Italy, Germany and Japan and the populations of those nations did likewise; though it took some time. Even with the USA and Vietnam, the veterans would meet up. Americans went back to help with projects, just to try and make sense of it all. It’s still a tight state run by a ‘communist’ government but is not what would call a North Korea. Hip-hop for instance is alive and vibrant (though I am sure the artists are careful with the lyrics)
When its communities; not so much, the hate is passed on down. The massacres are shared out. Even if the violence stops the hate simmers ready to break loose. Maybe not on issues across the board, but perhaps on certain sensitive points.
I’m tip-toeing around here a bit, lest I mention one example which triggers someone reading this.
I keep on hoping, when the evidence seems to be the opposite. I keep thinking of folk who wish for peace and have generous hearts, those who work for peace who try to reach out. I try and stifle my own little demons.
You are so right we should not be squandering our life span, in this useless Hate.
Thank you, Ten Bears for sharing this video so I could post it. What I want every one to understand is something the news reporters and the station buried. The people upset and demanding this huge change … are only 20% of the population. Now I listened to it three times and I couldn’t decide if they were saying the people in the county or the rural people in the country. To me it sounded like country wide the rural people were demanding and were 20% of the population. Which sounds right if you look at population maps. Do you understand what that is? A small minority is demanding the entire country abandon its progressive move forward into the modern age so a small segment of the population can be satisfied and happy. It is minority rule over the majority. It is not democracy! It is what the fundamentalist Christians are trying to do right now to every red state on LGBTQ+ issues. Are we as a country going to allow the most violent vocal segments of our society force us back to a regressive past that will eventually destroy what the US really is and could be? Hugs. Scottie
The divide between rural and urban areas in the United States has been growing in recent decades with grievances and political consequences on both sides. Judy Woodruff traveled across Oregon to learn more about that rift for her series, America at a Crossroads.
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Douglas Soule
Scottie's Playtime 