Parents fight dismissal of lawsuit on Florida's book ban policies
Three public school parents in Florida are appealing a federal judge's dismissal of their discrimination lawsuit earlier this year, in which they argued the state violated their First Amendment rights by not allowing them to challenge school board decisions to remove books.
The case involves a law approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023 that allows parents to use a state review process to object to when school boards decide not to remove or restrict a book.
The parents say this case against the State Board of Education is discriminatory, according to a brief filed with the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals June 4, since they can't use this same process when a school board does decide to remove or restrict books.
'The DeSantis administration's board of education is stealing important decisions away from parents and allowing those with the most extreme positions to decide what information our kids have access to,' Stephana Ferrell, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
Ferrell also is with the Florida Freedom to Read Project, an organization advocating for book access. The two other plaintiffs are Anne Watts Tressler and Nancy Tray of St. Johns County.
The initial lawsuit: New federal lawsuit says state of Florida discriminates against book ban-opposed parents
They're represented by advocacy groups Democracy Forward, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Southern Poverty Law Center. A request for comment is pending with a State Board of Education spokesperson.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018, dismissed the initial lawsuit that was filed last year. He ruled that the law "serves only parents with a particular status," that is, those whose objections were rejected by local school boards.
"Access does not depend on the ideology of the individual," Winsor wrote, dismissing the case in January.
The main issue highlighted in the brief was that allowing a review process excluding parents with an "opposite viewpoint" violates their First Amendment rights.
Viewpoint discrimination occurs when the government favors or suppresses speech based on the speaker's specific opinion or perspective. Courts have generally viewed it to violate the First Amendment, according to the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
"The First Amendment does not tolerate viewpoint-based discrimination. Accordingly, this Court should reverse the district court's judgment," the June 4 brief read.
Other book ban cases: Are Florida's book removals in schools protected government speech? Judge is not convinced
Florida is known nationally for its laws on removing and restricting books in school districts. The state has been listed in multiple reports, including through national free speech group PEN America, as leading the nation in book bans.
In accordance with state law, the Florida Department of Education released a list of about 700 books "removed or discontinued" from public schools from the 2023-2024 school year.
These books were added to the list in response to objections raised by parents or county residents of a school district.
This process of annual book review has been lauded by DeSantis, who signed a "curriculum transparency" bill that allowed for procedures for "regular removal or discontinuance" of books to target "indoctrination" in schools.
Florida at the forefront: Florida is the nation's book banning leader, according to national free speech group
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@gannett.com. On X: @stephanymatat.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida parents appeal dismissal of lawsuit on school book removals
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Any attempt to teach my children that Trump exists and is president might suggest such behavior is acceptable, and that would infringe on my right to raise my child under the moral tenets of my faith. I have a deeply held religious conviction that, by divine precept, lying, bullying and paying $130,000 in hush money to an adult film star are all immoral acts. So it is with great thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court and its recent ruling allowing Maryland parents to opt their children out of any lessons that involve LGBTQ+ material that I announce the following: Attempts to teach my children anything about Donald Trump, including the unfortunate fact that he is president of the United States, place an unconstitutional burden on my First Amendment right to freely exercise my religion. In its June 27 ruling, the high court cited Wisconsin v. 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(My faith, in this case, has a relatively simple core belief that being a complete jerk virtually all the time is bad.) Opinion: I can't wait to get a Trump Mobile gold phone to pay respect to my MAGA king Alito clearly doesn't want schools teaching kids that Trump exists As Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his opinion regarding the use of LGBTQ+ books in schools, some 'Americans wish to present a different moral message to their children. And their ability to present that message is undermined when the exact opposite message is positively reinforced in the public school classroom at a very young age.' Exactly. I wish to present a moral message to my children that when a man is found liable for sexual abuse and has been heard saying things like 'I moved on her like a bitch' and 'she's now got the big phony tits and everything' and 'Grab 'em by the pussy,' that man is deemed loathsome by civil society and not voted into the office of the presidency. That wish is undermined by any book or teacher exposing my student to the fact that Trump is president. Supreme Court is protecting children from the tyranny of love Alito cited several books that were at issue in Maryland schools, including one called 'Love Violet,' which 'follows a young girl named Violet who has a crush on her female classmate, Mira. Mira makes Violet's 'heart skip' and 'thunde[r] like a hundred galloping horses.' Although Violet is initially too afraid to interact with Mira, the two end up exchanging gifts on Valentine's Day. Afterwards, the two girls are seen holding hands and 'galloping over snowy drifts to see what they might find. Together.'' While my religion would define such a story as 'sweet' and 'loving,' Alito and his fellow conservatives on the Supreme Court find it 'hostile' to parents' religious beliefs. Tell us: Is America's billionaire boom good for government, democracy? | Opinion Forum As Alito wrote, 'Like many books targeted at young children, the books are unmistakably normative. They are clearly designed to present certain values and beliefs as things to be celebrated and certain contrary values and beliefs as things to be rejected.' OK. By that same logic, any class discussion or history lesson involving Trump and his status as president has the potential to teach my children that it's normal to have a president who lies incessantly, demeans transgender people and routinely demonizes migrants. Any in-class acknowledgement of Trump as president would, in Alito's words, be "clearly designed to present certain values and beliefs as things to be celebrated and certain contrary values and beliefs as things to be rejected.' I will now object to any book or classroom mention of Donald Trump I simply will not stand idly by while a taxpayer-funded school indoctrinates my children into believing a fundamentally dishonest and unkind person like Trump has the moral character to be president of the United States. My faith has led me to teach them otherwise, and any suggestion that Trump's behavior is acceptable would undermine that faith. Opinion: As a teacher, Supreme Court siding with parents' religious freedom concerns me Elly Brinkley, a staff attorney for U.S. Free Expression Programs at the free-speech advocacy group PEN America, said in a statement following the Supreme Court ruling in the Maryland case: 'The decision will allow any parents to object to any subject, with the potential to sow chaos in schools, and impact students, parents, educators, authors, and publishers.' Amen to that. I object to the subject of Donald Trump. Let the chaos ensue. Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @ and on Facebook at
