Democrats fear more book bans as House panel advances new bill

Florida’s push to remove books from school libraries has made national headlines in recent years, and now Democrats fear a new bill could remove some of the defenses that School Boards have to fight back.

Rep. Doug Bankson’s bill (HB 1539) would prohibit School Boards from considering a book’s serious literary, artistic, political and scientific value when deciding if the material can remain on shelves.

A school would need to remove the books within five school days if a parent, or a county resident who doesn’t have kids at the school, complains.

The state could threaten to withhold state money until school districts obeyed under the Apopka Republican’s bill.

Bankson’s legislation comes as Republicans and conservative advocates expressed outrage about the content they say is appearing in school libraries.

“It’s unfortunate that many of the folks who have opposed this bill today apparently have not seen some of the books that have been removed from our schools — I have,” said Rep. Dean Black, a Jacksonville Republican. “They’re appalling, they’re pornographic, they shouldn’t be anywhere near our children. This bill fixes that. I’ll vote up on that bill for that reason.”

Bankson’s bill was heard and approved by a vote of 13 to 4 in front of the House Education Administration Subcommittee. But the Senate companion bill (SB 1692) has been temporarily postponed. Sen. Stan McClain’s Office did not immediately respond for comment Wednesday afternoon. McClain is sponsoring the Senate version.

“The power of the state to control the conduct of children reaches beyond the scope of its authority over adults,” Senate staff analysis said, discussing recent court rulings on the issue.

But the staff report also added, “Despite the Court’s clear ruling that a state may regulate material harmful to minors, but not obscene for adults, some statutes have been found unconstitutionally overbroad and criminalized constitutionally protected speech.”

Democrats pounced and called Bankson’s and McClain’s bills unconstitutional. 

“This radically escalates Florida’s book ban and educational censorship crisis. I heard someone say that Florida doesn’t ban books. It absolutely does — 4,500 books have been banned,” said Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis, an Ocoee Democrat. “We’re making Florida the state with the most book bans in the country.”

Rep. Susan Valdés, who was elected as a Democrat but then switched to the Republican Party in December, voted in favor of the bill with the GOP lawmakers. Rep Jose Alvarez, a Kissimmee Democrat who angered his own political party last month by voting with Republicans, sided Wednesday with the other Democrats voting down the bill.