Publishing giants including Penguin Random House, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster are challenging book removals from schools in a lawsuit filed Thursday against the Florida State Board of Education and local school boards over book removals on Thursday.
Joined in the First Amendment lawsuit by parents and authors, the plaintiffs highlighted books by Maya Angelou, Ernest Hemingway, Toni Morrison and Leo Tolstoy, among others, that were removed from libraries in Florida school districts as a result of House Bill 1069.
The law, passed in 2023, was "designed to protect children in public schools," according to the Florida Senate. It allows any parent or resident in a school district to object to the use of specific material in classrooms, school libraries or reading lists if that material depicts or describes sexual conduct even if it isn’t "pornographic," unless it’s required for a health course.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando, challenges "the removal of books under the guise of 'pornography' that are not remotely obscene."
The publishing giants issued a joint statement Thursday saying they "are unwavering in our support for educators, librarians, students, authors, readers."
Publishers are increasingly pushing back against state curriculum regulations and the school boards and districts implementing them. In 2023, Penguin Random House joined two other lawsuits challenging curriculum restrictions — one against Iowa public officials and another against Florida's Escambia County School Board.
"Students need access to books that reflect a wide range of human experiences to learn and grow," said Dan Novack, associate general counsel for Penguin Random House, in a statement Thursday. "It’s imperative for the education of our young people that teachers and librarians be allowed to use their professional expertise to match our authors’ books to the right reader at the right time in their life.”
The Florida Department of Education did not respond to K-12 Dive's request for comment in time for publication.
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