2 parents suing over book bans in St. John’s schools tell Flagler reading freedom activists: ‘Be loud and proud’

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1069 last year, a law that gives anyone – whether a parent of a student or not – the right to object to books in public school libraries. Any objected book must be removed pending review. Thousands have been removed from school libraries across the state, including Flagler schools.

The new law does not allow parents or others to challenge the decision to remove a book. For example, individuals could challenge Ellen Hopkins’ Tiltwhich was challenged in Flagler County and removed from shelves in March 2023. But no individual can challenge this removal.

“Several pages of your bill describe a process for parents to complain about a book,” Democrat Yvonne Hinson of Gainesville asked Republican Stan McClain of Ocala, who is sponsoring the bill, during debate on the bill. “But is there a process for the other 99 percent of parents to request the book?”

“No, there isn’t,” McClain replied.

“Would you consider including one?” Hinson asked him.

“Not at the moment,” McClain replied.

Nancy Tray is a mother of three students and Anne Watts is a mother of two students in St. Johns County schools. Stephana Ferrell is a mother of two students in Orange County schools. The trio protested against bans or restrictions in their districts on titles such as Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse fiveJaycee Lee Dugards A stolen lifeMarilyn Robinson’s Keep your mouth shut! and Lauren Myracles l8r, g8runder other titles.

They were not allowed to submit the removals to the same state review process. They tried, requesting the appointment of a special judge in line with a May 2023 announcement by the Council of State that it would “establish a process for parents to request the appointment of a special judge when they disagree with a local decision on an objection to materials used in school or classroom libraries.” But the state summarily dismissed them. Manny Diaz, the Secretary of Education, even accused Ferrell of being an “activist” who wanted to make a sexually explicit book available to children.

Last month, they sued the state Department of Education, accusing it of speech discrimination under the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Today, two of the parents, Tray and Watts, were in Palm Coast as guests at the weekly meeting of the Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit organization chaired by Rabbi Merrill Shapiro. The parents’ appearance drew about 20 people to Pine Lakes Golf Club, where the group normally meets every Wednesday, usually in smaller groups.

Tray and Watts indicated they would not — and did not — speak about the lawsuit, on which little has happened except that the state filed a motion to dismiss on June 27. But as parents who have witnessed firsthand the book bans sweeping the state, they had no shortage of sharp views and advice for like-minded people in Flagler who oppose local book bans, even if that trend has been more muted this year.

“Everyone knows all the implications and consequences of book bans and what that can do to our children’s critical thinking,” Watts said. “Their chances of getting into a good college because they, like Nancy’s son, are not allowed to read certain books in their AP classes. And then there’s also teaching empathy, accepting the LGBTQ community, teaching accurate history. They’re trying to do away with all of that under the guise of protecting our children. And it doesn’t protect them at all.”

Tray has a 12th grader, a ninth grader and a sixth grader at St. John’s schools. She has experienced the book ban firsthand. “It was horrific,” she said. “I worked the night shift when they were little, and I would come home at 8:30 in the morning, hold my eyes open with my fingers, and read books to my kids because I wanted my kids to love reading, and it didn’t matter if the book was something I was interested in.” One of her children only wanted to read about trucks. “I can still recite Chuck’s books by heart. But that was what he loved, and it was so important to us to instill that love of reading in our kids. For this to happen in our school district was devastating, just absolutely devastating.”

The state’s new law amounts to “a big pile of confusing, intentionally vague garbage” for media center specialists – librarians – and other educators to grapple with, she said, cautioning against criticizing rank-and-file members of schools: Media centers remain the most professional judges of what is and isn’t appropriate reading material and at what level. But they are being denied the chance to exercise that professionalism as they once did, before the book ban became the politically charged opportunism it has been in recent years.

It’s not just about book bans, says Hazel Robinson, who works with Watts and Tray at St. John’s to promote reading freedom. It extends to the curriculum, too — and it’s not always a lost cause: In one case, a Dave Ramsey book that was supposedly about economics and was used in schools — and is very popular with homeschoolers — used all sorts of scripture quotes and didn’t meet standards. “We didn’t object to the Bible quotes. We fought on the grounds that the book didn’t meet Florida state standards. And that book was taken off the list,” Robinson said. “We can make a difference just by getting involved and speaking out.”

That was the message from activists today: not to lose heart, but to continue to look for new ways to fight the bans or the attempts to impose substandard materials, whether by networking with groups like the Florida Freedom to Read Project or by observing school boards and being there to oppose bans. “And every time you go, you make the same arguments over and over again,” said a retiree with no children in schools who calls herself an activist. It may take some time. But it is not pointless.

“There are a lot of positive things happening and we are all here to talk to you,” Robinson said. “And I appreciate that because the more voices we have here, the more power we have. I think we can fight this. It’s just awful, but we can’t just sit by and let it happen.”

The crowd was friendly, of course: no sign of Moms for Liberty – the group that became the standard-bearer of the book ban wave, although it seems to have largely disappeared from view in Flagler as in St. Johns. Perhaps the group considers its work just as largely done, even as what Tray described as “soft censorship” continues to wipe out school libraries. Teachers and media specialists simply remove a book out of fear that it might be offensive in order to avoid problems. That happened in Flagler County too (as it did in Tilt). But organizations like Florida Freedom to Read are tracking the removals — and today’s activists have asked their allies in Flagler to continue tracking them if they can. However, the removal of books under “soft censorship” often goes undocumented. It may be called “purging,” or entire shelves may simply disappear from classrooms.

The discussion touched on the relationship between white Christian nationalism and the book-banning movement, claims of “indoctrination” that now ironically run counter to the newly legalized push to open the doors to school chaplains. Some in the audience, perhaps referring to the new law in Louisiana requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools and a similar initiative in Oklahoma, expect the Commandments to appear in Florida schools next.

It wasn’t the book ban that made Tray oppose school policy. It was the dress code in St. Johns County. “All the girls there had to wear long pants, and the boys could wear shorts, the girls couldn’t,” she said. “We had a very sexist dress code in our county.” She created a coalition, a social media campaign, contacted the mainstream media, appeared on the Today Show and other network shows. “We hyped it up because we were sick of it,” she said. “I think when it comes to other issues that you care about, it’s just as relentless, along the lines of: Never let anything — a book or anything — go quietly. You have to be loud and proud about how much you care about this.”

Disclaimer: Merrill Shapiro is the Chairman of the FlaglerLive Board of Directors. He was not involved in the creation, writing, or editing of this article.

St. John’s Book Bans