DeSantis signs bill limiting book objections in school libraries

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a new bill into law Tuesday that limits the ability of individuals without students in a given school district to raise objections to books in those districts.

Under the new wide-reaching education bill, HB 1285, individuals without children in the school district will only be able to raise one objection per month. Parents with children with access to the district’s material — including those with home-schooled children — will still be able to file unlimited objections.

“Florida is the number one state in the country for education,” DeSantis said in a press release about the bill. “By focusing on core academic subjects and rejecting indoctrination in the classroom, we have become a standard-bearer for educational excellence. The legislation I signed today continues to build on Florida’s previous accomplishments.”

The new law seeks to address the logistical challenges posed by a highly controversial 2022 law, which gave individuals new power to raise objections to books available to students in schools’ K-12 libraries. The law also required materials to be age-appropriate for the students.

Critics have fiercely attacked the law, which has led to an uptick in banned books in Florida, many of which because they contained race-related content or LGBTQ characters. In some districts, the banned books have included some classics like the Holocaust graphic novel, “Maus,” and Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

Yet the law has also faced logistical challenges, as the book objections have poured into school districts since the bill was passed.

The statement released by the governor’s office implicitly acknowledges the drawbacks of the 2022 legislation. It said the new legislation “protects schools from activists trying to politicize and disrupt a district’s book review process.”