Duval County doubles book removals

Duval County Public Schools has become a new focal point in Florida’s school book-removal fight after the number of titles pulled from shelves through the district’s internal review process more than doubled in recent months, according to a May 21 report by News4Jax. PEN America, the free-expression group, said the district’s process lacks clear public visibility and has removed books that include works by Margaret Atwood, Jodi Picoult and Maya Angelou. (news4jax.com) The district says its library review system is required by state law and that certified media specialists review books in school media centers and classroom libraries. (pen.org) The dispute lands in a county that has already been at the center of earlier fights over school library access. (duvalschools.org) PEN America and We Need Diverse Books previously challenged Duval County’s handling of 176 titles from the Essential Voices classroom collection, saying those books had been pulled for review and kept out of classrooms. ### How did Duval’s review process become a new flashpoint? News4Jax reported on May 21 that Duval County Schools had more than doubled the number of books removed through an internal review process. The station said PEN America was questioning whether the district’s method gave the public enough visibility into how books were being flagged and taken off shelves. (news4jax.com) Duval County Public Schools says on its website that, as required by state law, certified media specialists review all books in school media centers and classroom libraries. The district also posts a list of “current, non-approved books” and says anyone seeking information about a particular title should submit a public records request. (pen.org) ### What is PEN America alleging about the removals? PEN America said on May 13 that Duval County schools had removed dozens of books “without a clearly defined or transparent review process.” The group said the removed titles included *The Handmaid’s Tale* by Margaret Atwood, *Nineteen Minutes* by Jodi Picoult and *I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings* by Maya Angelou. (news4jax.com) PEN America has framed the issue as part of a broader national pattern. Its 2024-2025 index said it recorded 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts, with Florida and Texas leading in the number of bans. ### What does Duval say its rules require? (duvalschools.org) Duval County’s library review page says state law requires certified media specialists to review books and that the district’s current list of non-approved books is publicly posted online. A separate district policy update approved late last year said challenges based on “pornography” or “sexual conduct” can make materials unavailable to students within five school days while an objection is resolved. (pen.org) The district has also said its board-appointed Material Review Committee handles complaints under updated Board Policy 4.30. That policy update said the committee has nine members, including seven voting members and two non-voting members. (pen.org) ### Why is Duval’s earlier history part of this story? Duval County was already under scrutiny in 2022 after 176 books from the Essential Voices collection were removed from classrooms for review. PEN America and We Need Diverse Books said at the time that the books had been kept in storage for months with little indication of when they would return. News4Jax also reported in April that a Jacksonville group had challenged three books in Duval schools, including two by Jodi Picoult and one by Stephen King. (duvalschools.org) Picoult responded publicly, urging people to speak up. ### Where can parents and residents track what happens next? Duval County Public Schools says the current non-approved list is available on its library review webpage and that title-specific information can be obtained through a public records request. (dcps.duvalschools.org) The district’s instructional materials page also says review meetings for challenged materials are publicly noticed at least seven days in advance. (pen.org) May 21 coverage from News4Jax said community members were pressing for more transparency around the district’s removals. For now, the next public markers are the district’s posted non-approved list, any publicly noticed review meetings, and records requests tied to individual titles. (news4jax.com) (duvalschools.org) (news4jax.com)