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PEN America and the Florida Freedom to Read Project Release Report on Book Banning

On June 3, PEN America and the Florida Freedom to Read Project issued a report on how Florida’s “parental rights” agenda has influenced book banning and censorship and could serve as a blueprint for federal policy.  “The Blueprint State: Lessons From Parents Left Behind by ‘Parental Rights’ Policies in Florida” illustrates that the seeds of the federal administration’s approach to “ideological control of education under the guise of advancing ‘parental rights’” started in 2021 when the Sunshine State began to grant “‘parental rights’ … not into the hands of all parents but to a particular segment of citizens—some not even parents but community members.”

“The Blueprint State” provides warnings based on the experience in Florida. It explains how some Florida school districts’ opt-in policies “limited students’ access to libraries until their parents approved it.” In contrast, opt-out policies “defaulted to full library access for all students until a parent requested limitations for their own children.”

In another example, Seminole County’s local Moms for Liberty chapter “pressured decision-makers within the district to review books removed in other districts in the state. If a title in Seminole’s collection matched a book on the state-compiled list, it subsequently faced removal or restriction. … [E]ven if parents wanted to object to these state-list driven removals and restrictions, they could not.”

The report offers suggestions for those who wish to defend the right to read. It includes a description of what we can expect to see in First Amendment challenges, policies requiring libraries to segregate books, efforts by state and local governments to mandate what titles can be purchased and displayed in collections, and even attempts at “criminalizing librarians and educators” who cross the line. Ways to get and stay engaged include joining grassroots organizations that protect the freedom to read, contacting elected officials, or hosting events to raise local awareness of the issue. There is also a description of how to hold a book exchange where participants “share what they loved about the book they brought” and discuss concerns about book bans and censorship.

The Florida Freedom to Read Project was established in 2012 in response to the growing prevalence of book challenges in the state. PEN America, part of PEN International, was founded in 1922 “to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others.” The organization’s website says that it “tracks book bans and fights censorship in public schools and libraries across the country.”