Plaintiffs, including parents and book authors, have agreed to a legal settlement with the Nassau County school board that will return 36 books to school library shelves after an advocacy group objected to their content.
The settlement was filed in the Middle District of Florida on Sept. 12, putting an end to a federal lawsuit brought by the authors of “And Tango Makes Three” and other plaintiffs. The lawsuit alleged that the school board’s removal of the 36 books violated the First Amendment, the Florida Constitution and state public records statutes.
The books were removed after an advocacy group, Citizens Defending Freedom, alleged the books contained “obscene” material. A recent measure signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis makes it easier for parents and other parties to challenge school library books based on sexual content or other concerns.
“And Tango Makes Three” tells the story of two same-sex penguins at the Central Park Zoo who adopt and raise a chick. In the legal settlement, the defendant school district officials stipulate that the book contains no “obscene” material and is appropriate for all ages.
As of Sept. 13, the defendants agreed to return “Tango” and 22 other books back to the libraries the district oversees, with no age restrictions. This group of books includes “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison.
The school district also agreed to return to the shelves “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky – but only for public school students in ninth grade or above.
Another group of 12 removed books, including “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, will be put back in the libraries for students 18 years or older, according to the agreement. Younger students will also have access to these books if their parents or guardians provide written consent.
In addition, the school district has agreed to form a review committee by Oct. 31 that will examine the appropriateness of 12 books for older children during a public comment period, according to the agreement. The decisions made by the panel will also be subject to an appeal process.
School district officials did not respond to requests for comment about the settlement, but the Selendy Gay law firm, which represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement that the settlement ensures more transparent decision making by the school board.
“The settlement prevents the school board from unlawfully removing public school library books during private, closed-doors meetings – a violation of Florida’s public-disclosure statutes …” the law firm’s statement says. “Additionally, the settlement undoes the school board’s use of unlawful pretextual bases for removing public school books that have viewpoints with which the board and its representatives disagree.”
Many of the books in question address issues such as racism, life experiences of immigrants and problems facing transgender people and other underrepresented people, according to Selendy Gay.
“This settlement – a watershed moment in the ongoing battle against book censorship in the United States – significantly restores access to important works that were unlawfully removed from the shelves of Nassau County … public school libraries,” Lauren Zimmerman, a Selendy Gay attorney, said. “Students will once again have access to books from well-known and highly lauded authors representing a broad range of viewpoints and ideas.”
Similar disputes about the removal of books from school libraries are playing out in other Florida counties, including Escambia.