Florida school district adds parental advisory warning to books discussing race and LGBTQ+ issues

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A Florida public school district added parental advisory labels to dozens of books and e-books, deeming them potentially unsuitable for students. Many of the books discuss themes of race or the LGBTQ+ community.

Key Players

Collier County Public Schools (CCPS), located in southwest Florida and encompassing Naples on the Gulf of Mexico, provide education to 48,000 students across 31 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, eight high schools, one virtual school, one Pre-K school, and 13 alternative school programs. The school district employs 3,200 teachers. 

Florida Freedom to Read Project (FFRP), founded in January 2022, is an advocacy group focused on bringing together parent-led groups and protecting every student’s right to access information. The group has worked toward student-centered education in the face of the so-called “parents’ rights” movement across Florida.

PEN America, founded in 1922, is a nonprofit that “stands at the intersection of literature and human rights.” It has over 7,500 members across the United States and an international network of over 100 centers.

Florida Citizens Alliance (FCA), a conservative nonprofit organization, seeks to reform “Florida’s K-12 education by uniting and empowering teachers, students, and parents,” according to its website. The nonprofit also seeks to educate and empower parents to make the best decisions for their children.

Further Details

In February 2022, CCPS added parental advisory labels to books discussing racism and LGBTQ topics, according to Stephana Ferrell, an FFRP co-founder. Labels were also included in the district’s online book catalog.

“This Advisory Notice shall serve to inform you that this book has been identified by some community members as unsuitable for students. … The decision as to whether this book is suitable or unsuitable shall be the decision of the parent(s) who has the right to oversee his/her child’s education consistent with state law,” the label reads. 

On Aug. 5, PEN America revealed that 110 books were marked as inappropriate by the district. 

“Books with these warnings disproportionately include stories featuring LGBTQ+ characters and plot lines and communities of color,” the organization tweeted. 

Such titles included children’s books like Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers, and Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. Literary classics such as Beloved by Toni Morrison and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou were also marked. Some of the labeled books have been banned in many other schools across the country, including Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.

Among the list of books, 47 contain sexual content, including educational books about sexual health; 46 have LGBTQ+ themes; 34 have protagonists or secondary characters who are people of color; 16 have transgender characters; and 10 are children’s picture books.

Ferrell said she had received a phone call from Elizabeth Alves, the CCPS associate superintendent of teaching and learning, who said the labels were added after the district’s lawyer spoke with the FCA. Alves described the decision as a “compromise,” The Advocate reported. Previously, the conservative group issued a 2021 report on “objectionable materials,” which included a list of books about gender self-identification. 

“All of the novels in question contain indecent and offensive material,” the FCA report states. Some of the listed books were labeled by the district. 

Chad Oliver, a CCPS spokesperson, confirmed that Alves spoke to Ferrell but denied that the labels were added as a compromise between the district and the FCA.

Oliver said that based on legal advice, the school district “placed advisory notices on books about which parents and community members had expressed concern and in accordance with the” Parental Rights in Education Law. Additionally, he said none of the labeled books were removed, and parents were made aware of the labels via a districtwide email prior to spring break. He asserted that the district was adhering to the law, and not targeting the LGBTQ+ community. 

Dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics, the Parental Rights in Education Law bans class instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through third grade. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed it into law in March 2022. (The provision was extended to cover all grades in April 2023.)

Outcome

FCA, FFRP, PEN America respond

Kieth Flaugh, CEO and co-founder of FCA, welcomed the parental advisory labels, claiming that many of the books contained “sexually explicit and age inappropriate content,” which he said violated state laws on obscenity and the sale of harmful material to minors.

Ferrell argued that the stickers should have disclaimers noting they were placed on the books at the request of some parents and community members, contending that the labels sent a message that the district agrees with their sentiment, according to NBC News.

“Now, I cannot go in there and make a decision for myself without seeing somebody else’s opinion on this book,” Ferrell stated.

Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America, compared the “advisory notice” to warning labels on cigarettes. “They’re treating it like a controlled, alarming substance. This is literature for young people,” said Friedman.