Gov. Ron DeSantis talks during a press conference before signing legislation on May 15, 2023, at New College of Florida in Sarasota, Florida. | Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via APTALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida residents who don’t have children attending school will have significantly fewer chances to challenge books in local K-12 libraries under a new law signed Tuesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
In backing the idea, DeSantis said Florida wants to stamp out frivolous challenges as “activists” from “all ends of the political spectrum” are objecting to “everything under the sun.” Residents who don’t have a child in school will only be able to challenge one title per month under the new law. It is a significant piece of, a wide-ranging education bill that also addresses struggling public schools and includes policies to benefit military families.
According to the free speech advocacy group PEN America, Florida has “banned” more books than any other state — some 1,406 works total. Asurrounding book objections. They contend the law won’t slow down some of the state’s more prolific book challengers, such asresponsible for 94 percent of local objections. As such, some Democratic lawmakers criticized the new policy for being “too lax” in fixing the “loopholes” plaguing the current rules.