Books by Bill O’Reilly, Dean Koontz Challenged in School: What Happened?
The three books are currently on the shelves at Park Vista High School. Here is the school board’s decision.
Opponents of the book ban in front of the headquarters of the Palm Beach County School District
Several dozen opponents of the book ban waved signs into traffic in front of the school district headquarters
thσmαѕ σrdч, Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach County School Board voted Wednesday to reject three appeals against books by Bill O’Reilly, Ayn Rand and Dean Koontz on the shelves of the Park Vista High School library.
The person who challenged the books called them lessons in “hypocrisy” because they were written by two authors with ties to candidates who have supported Florida’s book restrictions but whose own works contain explicit sexual content.
The books in question were “The O’Reilly Factor for Kids: A Survival Guide for America’s Families” by O’Reilly, “The Fountainhead” by Rand, and “The Taking” by Koontz.
Kenneth Derrick, who is not a father of a child in Park Vista, did not push for the books to be removed from the library.
Challenge of books required advisory label
Instead, he suggested that the school district add a warning label to the books identifying authors who sponsor book contests but use sexual content in their own novels.
The board unanimously rejected his request to label the books.
“This request by the plaintiff violates Florida law. It violates our policies and procedures as a school district,” said Superintendent Mike Burke. “I would just point out to the board that we have over 2 million books in Palm Beach County schools. I would be concerned if we started issuing warning labels because that could be a subjective process. … His proposal concerns me.”
Derrick did not attend the school board hearing.
Under Florida state law, parents of students and county residents may object to books they believe are pornographic or inappropriate for the students who have access to those books.
Derrick’s objections to the three books were rejected by the Park Vista School Materials Review Committee, the principal and Burke. The rejections were based on the committee’s determination that the books were age-appropriate and that the school district does not normally place warning labels on books.
The three books are the second, third and fourth formal challenges in the past year that have been appealed to the school board hearing. Last July, a parent unsuccessfully challenged the Bible’s availability to Olympic Heights High students.
More: Palm Beach County school board votes to keep Bibles in libraries after parent protests
Why did the Boynton Beach man challenge three books at Park Vista High?
In The O’Reilly Factor: A Survival Guide for America’s Families, Derrick cites descriptions of sexual behavior in the book’s “Sex” chapter as the reason for his challenge.
“For example, on page 72: ‘And according to many experts and studies, quite a few of you like to pretend you’re in the Clinton White House. I mean, you casually practice oral sex, even in your early teens,'” Derrick wrote in his challenge, along with other examples from the chapter in the book.
He suggested putting a sign on the book stating that the author supports Florida laws “restricting the content of books in classrooms and libraries, but he became angry when his books were removed from the collection because of inappropriate content.”
O’Reilly, a conservative television commentator and former Fox News host, was reportedly “furious” in January after two of his books were pulled from circulation by the Escambia County School District. He had previously supported Florida’s book review laws, which he said were necessary to “protect children from a far-left agenda.”
Derrick has also challenged “The Fountainhead” for its description of an apparent sexual assault. The book was written by Alice O’Connor under the pseudonym Ayn Rand and published in 1943. Derrick says in his challenge that “many persons who support Florida laws restricting the content of books in school classrooms and libraries often recommend that young people read this book.”
According to The Orlando Sentinel, public schools in Orange County removed the book from their libraries last year.
Finally, Derrick criticized The Taking for its depictions of violent sexual behavior, including pornography and gang sexual assault. The novel was written by self-described conservative and Catholic horror novelist Dean Koontz and published in 2004.
Derrick argues that Koontz has “donated money to politicians who support laws restricting the content of books in school classrooms and libraries.” Campaign finance records show that Koontz has donated to several Republican congressional candidates in California over the past four years. None of these candidates appear to have any ties to Florida.
Katherine Kokal is a journalist who covers education for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [email protected]. Support our work. Subscribe today!
Are Taylor Swift and Oprah being considered as replacements for Joe Biden?
Did Harry Styles play 15 shows in a row? The singer’s MSG concert in 2022
Are Rob and Andrea still together?
About The Author
