Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently enacted legislation that eliminates instructors’ capacity to exploit a book challenge rule designed to safeguard students from pornographic content in educational settings.
Florida residents who do not have children in the state’s education system now face considerable restrictions on their ability to challenge book titles under the new law.
DeSantis asserted that individuals were not interested in having their time squandered by left-wing individuals attempting to prohibit classic literature.
“The idea that someone can use the parents rights and the curriculum transparency to start objecting to every single book to try to make a mockery of this is just wrong. That’s performative. That’s political.” DeSantis said.
“We don’t care about your performative efforts to try to make a name for yourself, that’s not appropriate. So when you have some school administrators or teachers that are saying that somehow state law requires them to take classic books off the shelves, that is a lie. That is not true. That is depriving students of a valid education.” he continued.
“So I think that 90% of the things, I mean, when they would say that somehow, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ couldn’t be done when that was on the state’s summer reading list for the Florida Department of Education, don’t tell me Florida law says you can’t do that. When they said you couldn’t do a book about Hank Aaron, when that was the Book of the Month for the Florida Department of Education, don’t tell us you can do that.” he added.
“We’ve had one teacher put a video out, covered up every book in the classroom, ‘Oh, the state!’ You know, that’s passive aggressive nonsense, and we’re just not going to tolerate it. … Here’s a good test. If I stood here with with a photo from one of these books and you guys wouldn’t be able to put it on your air, then it’s probably not appropriate in the sixth grade classroom. I mean, that’s probably where we go.” DeSantis said in conclusion.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Signs New Bill Allowing Chaplains in Florida Schools]
