The School Board of Alachua County unanimously approved the removal of two books from school libraries during a regular meeting on Tuesday. The decision was based on the recommendation of the district-level library advisory council (LAC) which reviewed the books after a citizen’s challenge. 

The citizen challenged “The Sun and Her Flowers” by Rupi Kaur and “Haunted” by Chuck Palahnuik based on sexual content. 

The Parental Rights in Education Act, which last year was expanded to include grades K-12, prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and also requires schools to remove materials in classrooms or school libraries if a citizen raises a valid concern that it contains sexual conduct, pornographic content, is unsuited to student needs, or inappropriate for the grade level. 

Before September 2023, Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) district media specialist Patty Duval had not seen any book challenges, though parents could submit forms if they had concerns. 

At the end of September, a parent’s complaint through the new system resulted in one book being removed by a principal. Since then, the total number of books challenged has reached about 32, according to Duval. 

Duval said there have been a total of 35 complaints, but some of them are duplicates. Of the complaints, 15 were filed by one parent, and another eight were submitted by another citizen. The number of challenges filed has now exceeded the district’s capacity for what it can review in the remainder of the school year. 

The district finalized a system in February to send each complaint through the district LAC, which has regularly scheduled meetings. Duval said the LAC can only review two books at each meeting, as the council members must first read the books to discuss them, and while this year’s remaining scheduled meetings could possibly fit in a discussion of a picture book, several chapter books have already been pushed to the fall for review. 

Duval said the fast flow of requests has put a strain on herself and the district attorney. She said she has not been able to provide support to school media specialists as she normally would. 

Duval said she is frustrated that the increase in book challenges have come from a small number of people, at least one of whom does not have a child in ACPS. 

“I completely support, and would bend over backwards to support, a parent who would like to exercise their right [to dispute a book] that they have encountered in an organic way,” Duval said in a phone interview. 

Board Member Sarah Rockwell said she took an oath to uphold the law, and Florida law requires the district to remove books that contain sexual content. She said her opinion is that the content of school libraries should be decided by staff with training and curriculum, media center curation and child development, as the district has done in the past. 

“I have the utmost respect for the members of our district library review committee,” Rockwell said. “They are experts in child development, media center curation and curriculum, and I am therefore going to vote with their recommendation, but I have reservations about that.” 

Rockwell said she has concerns about upcoming challenges that will come before the board for a vote, and about those that were made before the state settled a lawsuit over the Parental Rights in Education Act. The settlement established that the law’s ban on teaching about gender identity and sexuality includes heterosexuality. 

Rockwell requested that staff review any books that have already been removed to ensure that they should not have been exempted from removal. She also asked for the AP, IB and Cambridge reading lists be examined to ensure the district does not remove any of those books, which are exempted from the statute. 

Board Member Tina Certain agreed with Rockwell, saying that not all laws are good laws, and changing representation at the state level is more difficult than it sounds. She thanked the citizens who attended the meeting and lined up to provide their feedback. 

“I applaud the citizens and I appreciate them for coming and leaning in and advocating to us, their elected officials,” Certain said. “Because if no one speaks up and pushes back, nothing would ever change.” 

Jane Spear, president of PFLAG Gainesville Florida, and other commenters thanked the board for its consistent voting to retain “diverse” library materials and support vulnerable students. 

“In the midst of all, the board has consistently supported… all students and all parents,” Spear said during public input. 

After congratulating the board for its efforts, Spear asked that members consider adding protections for teachers and media specialists. She also said she hopes the LAC recognizes the difference between a clear violation of the law and material that warrants a difficult conversation. 

After a clip of an assistant principal at a book hearing went viral online in February, Duval said the district decided to pull the hearings off of YouTube. The recorded hearings are still available through a public records request, but LAC meetings are not recorded at all. 

Joe Smith, director of the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida, also spoke during public comment. He asked the board to add a process for appealing a removed book if it no longer fits the state’s criteria for removal, and to create a system that does not allow a minority to have such a large impact on what materials are available to students. 

Smith also asked for more protections for teachers and media specialists. 

“Recognizing and representing that queer parents, students and families exist is not a part of some ideology or nefarious plan,” Smith said in the meeting. “The only agenda is that we want those children, who are currently being told that they are wrong, and that their families are wrong, to grow into adults.” 

Olivia Haley, the petitioner who submitted challenges on both “Haunted” and “The Sun and Her Flowers,” said she challenged the books for graphic, pornographic descriptions of masturbation and oral sex. 

“How does this account for any educational value?” Haley said during public comment. “The short answer is, it doesn’t, and it’s highly inappropriate. I can guarantee that there are other books that have related overarching themes, that you can substitute.” 

Haley said board members and teachers are public servants, not leaders, and that even one parent’s concern should be treated with “the utmost respect.” 

Other citizen commenters said books like “The Sun and Her Flowers” provide meaningful and helpful guidance on how to get help and persevere after a sexual assault. 

“It is critical that we provide opportunities for young people to learn about hardships,” Sadie Matteucci, a teacher at Gainesville High School, said. 

Matteucci also questioned the validity of Haley’s book challenges, as Haley is a student at the University of Florida and not a parent of an ACPS student. She called for the board to prevent “bad actors” from submitting “frivolous book challenges.” 

Bart Birdsall, librarian media specialist at the Sidney Lanier Center, brought several books from the school library with him to show during public comment, including a children’s Bible and “And Tango Makes Three,” a book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin. He said none of these books are “flying off the shelf.” 

“Nobody’s walking in and saying, ‘where are the gay books, I want to find the gay books,’” Birdsall said. “Or ‘where are the Bible books,’ even. But we need to have all kinds of books for all kids that we see in our school.” 

Birdsall said children are much more focused on checking out books about dinosaurs and sports. He said he is more concerned about the effects of social media and smartphones preventing students from reading in the first place.