Facing a federal lawsuit over their removal of 36 books from schools, the Nassau County School District reached a settlement agreement to return the books to library shelves.
The books on the list included works by Ellen Hopkins and Sarah Maas as well as works by prize-winning author Toni Morrison. Oft-challenged works such as The Kite Runner, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Hate You Give were on the list, as well as the children’s book And Tango Makes Three, the true story of two male penguins who adopt a penguin nestling.
The board’s action was picked up by local news in late January, and that local news story caught the attention of Tango authors Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, who are no strangers to having their book challenged.
The challenge to the books was brought by the Nassau County Chapter of Citizens Defending Freedom. That chapter’s executive director Jack Knocke said in February “School districts that are breaking the law should be held accountable. In this case, we are very pleased with the cooperation and professionalism of the Nassau County School Board, who respectfully worked with us every step of the way to help protect our county’s children.”
Citizens Defending Freedom was founded as County Citizens Defending Freedom in 2021. Jack Jenkins at Religion News Service reported that the inspiration came from hearing Rand Paul speak to a group of faith and business leaders meeting at Mar-a-Lago. The group also has names ties to other conservative groups, particularly the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian conservative group that has exercised considerable influence in opposing LGTBQ rights and abortion.
CCDF started out in Polk County, where the group challenged 16 books as illegal in 2022. It soon expanded to other counties and states, changing its name to reflect its greater reach. In its IRS filing, CDF lists a threefold mission:
To equip and empower American citizens to stand for and preserve freedom for themselves and future generations. To resolve breaches of liberty through local awareness, local light, and local action. To educate the American citizen on the value of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its influence on America’s founding.
Founder Steve Maxwell is the CEO of a company that makes produce packaging, and most of the visible members of CDF are also Christian businessmen. One critic called them “Moms for Liberty in suits.”
CDF Nassau has previous experience with the Nassau school board. CDF Nassau board member Rich Lamken was a “regular speaker” at board meetings and had pushed for a Citizens Budget Advisory Committee. The board resisted but eventually created the committee, giving it oversight of just 5% of the budget. They did not appoint Lamken to the committee. The headline in the conservative Citizens Journal Florida read “School Board Selects Leftist Extremist Over a Qualified, Experienced Candidate for Review Board.”
CDF Nassau’s request to remove the books could not have come as a surprise to the board. But Lauren Zimmerman, attorney for the Tango authors, says it came as a surprise to those outside the board. “There was no public hearing. There was no real announcement about what was going on.” But when the news broke, the authors and several parents and students in the district filed suit in federal court.
The district had claimed that Tango was removed due to “lack of circulation,” but Zimmerman says that examination of district records showed that the book had been taken out by students, and that other books that showed no circulation were not removed. In a press release protesting the board’s decision to pursue settlement, CDF doubled down on its challenge to the book:
Suggesting that children find their values from the abnormal animal kingdom behavior is manipulative and confusing to young minds. Values taught is school should come from the Judeo-Christian values ordained by God on which the United States of America was founded.
In the press release, CDF also objects to Ghost Boys, which promotes “racial division, hatred, anti-police themes, and directs students to even more radical writings.”
The other books, argued CDF, were in violation of Florida statute 847.012, which broadly forbids exposing minors to any depiction of “sexual conduct.”
The list appears to have been drawn from the website BookLooks.org, a site that highlights objectionable content in books; the site has been linked to many book challenges in the U.S.
The lawsuit charged that the school board used “unlawful censorship” to remove “the children’s book behind closed doors and without community involvement or comment” in violation of Florida’s sunshine laws. Zimmerman says the district has a book challenge procedure in place, but it was not followed in this case.
Shortly after the suit was filed, the school board centered negotiations to settle the suit, and soon after the parties reached a settlement. That settlement requires the board to restore the books, to refrain from making any future removals behind closed doors, and to acknowledge that Tango contains no obscene material.
Zimmerman argues that suit was important because “it’s a playbook that we’re seeing” in which some organization steps in and decides “its views on what our children should and shouldn’t read should rule the say.” Why would successful authors whose work is often challenged but rarely removed bother with this? Zimmerman explains, “Freedom of information, the importance of education, diversity, and viewpoints that students can be exposed to those. It’s just all very important. It’s kind of the cornerstone of American education.”
CDF Nassau executive director Jack Knocke called the settlement “a dark day for Nassau County Schools.” CDF called on Governor Ron DeSantis to remove the Nassau County School Board and Superintendent. They have also notified the Nassau County Sheriff, sharing district findings as evidence “that they are distributing materials in violation of Florida’s child obscenity laws.” Says Sarah Calamunci, CDF Florida State Director, “We intend to hold them accountable.”
At this time, the school board has not replied to a request for comment.
This post was originally published on here
