The Brevard Public Schools book review committee will resume meetings on March 12th after a six-month break. Since 2022, at least 38 books have been restricted or banned across the district, with many being banned at individual schools. The Board of Education has the final decision. He booked the ban and rejected the committee’s recommendations several times.
Almost six months after the third halt since formation in 2022, the Brevard Public Schools book review committee decides which books will be permanently banned from district shelves and which will stay It’s useful for, but turns the pages in a new chapter.
The committee will suspend meetings in September 2024 after two positions on the five-member committee were vacant, and will resume meetings on March 12th to discuss the three novels. It has gone through numerous iterations since its formation in 2022, and concerns about the content of books in the classroom and library came to mind in Brevard.
It is not clear who will be on the committee, and a survey of Florida today’s district has not been answered by a district spokesperson. The BPS policy provides that committee members must be appointed by board members and each board member must appoint one member.
Which books will be reviewed?
The judges will discuss Marinda Law’s “Telegraph Club” last night, Ashley Hope Perez’s “Breathless” by “Out of Darkness” and Last Night.”
They will also review “The Kingdom of Small Scars” by Suzan Kokal, but no dates for that meeting have been set.
How does the review process work?
The review committee will read a book about which community members filed a formal complaint and will give the school board a recommendation on whether to maintain, restrict or ban the title entirely. Ultimately, the decision is up to the board of directors, and the board votes for the book reviewed by subsequent boards. There is no need to consider the committee’s recommendations when making a final decision.
“We can oppose what the committee recommends,” the board said after the committee received advice to flush and maintain it for the first time since its establishment. When he chose to ban books, he said, “We can oppose what the committee recommends.” For high school students. “It’s not just our options, but that’s our duty.”
According to the most updated version of district policy, each board member appoints committee members and media experts – working in school libraries and working with teachers to provide students with learning opportunities through reading To help you to – non-voting positions.
In September, the district did not say which members left the committee, but an email from district staff member obtained today to committee members was appointed by Katie Delaney (Jean Trent). and Michelle Dale (appointed by Matt Suzin). Additionally, Paul Rube, appointed by former board member Jennifer Jenkins, said he is no longer a member of the committee as of this year.
How many books are banned in Brevard?
Some books are banned across the district, but other books are banned by school, so it is impossible to say how many titles were pulled in total from district shelves.
Since the establishment of the Book Review Committee in 2022, at least 38 books have been limited to certain grades or are banned entirely across the district. The list of books that are prohibited by school is much larger. Records obtained today by Florida from the 2023-2024 school year show that 169 books were drawn permanently from the shelves, and the House bill, a law that laid out what districts can and cannot teach in schools. 1069 is cited. Some of these titles were replicas. The district’s website features additional books pulled at some schools.
Most of the banned books violated HB 1069, according to the district. At least one – a Japanese LGBTQ graphic novel, or a comic titled “Sasaki adn Miyano, vol. 1” by Shoh Harusono – agreed by both the committee and the board. However, the board voted to ban it in August 2024, and Megan Wright said there was concern that it was “inappropriate” and that she said it was written as “backward.” I said. Manga books are read from left to left forward, as they are literal translations of Japanese texts.
With the ban, the National Union urged a National Union against Censorship, an alliance of nonprofits across the country that work to protect freedom of expression. The group expressed concern that the board may be in violation of the First Amendment.
People spoke repeatedly at school board meetings to ban books. Last August, after a list of 169 books was circulated online, Rachel Jolie spoke at the board of directors referring to the ban on books in Nazi Germany.
“As you can see from the start, it’s not about protecting people, banning books, managing information, and who has access to that information,” Jolie said. “It’s about controlling them.”
How has the Book Review Committee changed over the years?
The Book Review Committee has seen a variety of members and has undergone minor changes in how it works since it was first established in 2022.
The first committee included media experts, but stopped in fall 2022 shortly after Wright and Trent took office. Allow media experts to vote.
The policy was amended to remove decision-making power from media experts, and the committee resumed again in June 2023. It was suspended again in the same month, and board members raised what was called HB 1069 language concerns and harassment against committee members.
This policy was revised again in October 2023 to include the language for HB 1069. This revision has shifted ultimate decision-making power to the Board of Education rather than to the committee members.
The committee reopened once more in December 2023, before halting last September. In many cases, the board ignored the committee’s recommendations on whether to maintain, restrict or prohibit books. These decisions were made primarily based on the interpretations of the board members of HB 1069 themselves and personal feelings about the book.
Finchwalker is a Florida education reporter today. Please contact Walker at fwalker@floridatoday.com. X: @_finchwalker.
