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Advocates Concerned over Book's Removal From Schools

Last month, Florida state leaders demanded removal of 55 books deemed `pornographic` in public school libraries, and Orange County Public Schools complied.
Amid statewide ban trends, PEN America reported 4,561 school book bans in 2024, and OCPS’s attorney said the 55 titles did not meet the legal definition of pornography.
District data show OCPS had 41 state-listed books in circulation during the 2024-25 school year, many of which were rarely or never checked out and just 19 titles circulated fewer than 10 times among nearly 60,000 high school students.
First Amendment advocates worried the state was stomping on local school boards’ authority and said it wrongly labeled sexual descriptions in novels as `pornographic`.
In the wake of the removals, Stephana Ferrell fears the 55-removal list is just a start, while Allison Kibbey noted digital book checkouts have increased as students favor e-readers.

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Wetaskiwin Times

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