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Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

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Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#21

Post by toomuchtodo »

yamtaddle wrote: post #19
Pulcinella wrote: post #10

In Florida, school librarians are called "media specialists" and hold media specialist certificates. A rule passed by the Florida Department of Education last week states that a "library media center" includes any books made available to students, including in classrooms. This means that classroom libraries that are curated by teachers, not librarians, are now illegal. Prepare for “route around the damage” moment whe…

Classroom libraries are a big deal. Every step taken that makes a teacher's job riskier, less pleasant, or less like what they want to be doing (teaching kids, without having to worry about whether some plainly-positive action is legal), drives good teachers out of the profession.

It also drives families with kids out of Florida to more sane educational operating environments.

Florida already has the worst teacher shortage in the nation: https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/01/22/our-child...

Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#23

Post by srndsnd »

jdlyga wrote: post #5
mabbo wrote: post #3

Hey America, is everything okay down there? Y'all have some truly dystopian stuff going on there. Felony prosecution for showing kids books that the Governor didn't approve of? Yikes.

Nothing's ever been ok in Florida. They do their own thing down there, and we stay far away from the crazyness. Each state is semi-independent with the federal/state separation of powers. It's good for vacation though.

I dunno. As the country bifurcates more and more, I'm thinking long and hard about if I want to travel to certain states. I'd rather as little of my money as possible be spent there.

Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#24

Post by jackson1442 »

Pulcinella wrote: post #10

In Florida, school librarians are called "media specialists" and hold media specialist certificates. A rule passed by the Florida Department of Education last week states that a "library media center" includes any books made available to students, including in classrooms. This means that classroom libraries that are curated by teachers, not librarians, are now illegal. Prepare for “route around the damage” moment whe…

> the fact that it is a felony seems particularly aggressive to me

Agreed. There's really not analogy for this in the professional world, except for things that are _already a crime_ like fraud or negligence. I don't think most people on HN could be prosecuted just for failing to do their job to the satisfaction of their local government.

Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#25

Post by wyldfire »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #15
deugtniet wrote: post #4

If anybody thinks this is a good idea, I'm looking forward to reading your opinions.

It's a bit harsh but I mean, all it boils down to is: Teachers shall teach the curriculum.

That is weird. I guess we can agree to that principle but do we need to be draconian about it? Do we need laws to make teachers focus on curriculum?

Didn't you ever read a book that wasn't prescribed by the curriculum?

Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#26

Post by thundergolfer »

sedeki wrote: post #8

Can someone provide book titles that are affected by this...?

The rules are whitelisting not blacklisting oriented, so it’s easier to give the set of list that would be allowed, and every other book in existence outside that allowed set is potentially blocked.

The rules would block a book like East of Eden. Pornographic elements and too advanced for kids (even if it isn’t)

Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#27

Post by notch656c »

mabbo wrote: post #3

Hey America, is everything okay down there? Y'all have some truly dystopian stuff going on there. Felony prosecution for showing kids books that the Governor didn't approve of? Yikes.

There were some books that some segment of voters didn't approve of that certain school libraries were providing. This seems like a backdoor way to stop that while bypassing having to go through controversial school board meetings and/or 1A constitutionality issues to block those books.

Not to say this isn't insane, just explaining how I think it happened.

Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#28

Post by OrvalWintermute »

The problem is that some of the libraries are hosting sexually explicit material that is accessible to younger children that some parents claim is sexually grooming the children. Some of these books have been included on reading lists.

The book that is the poster child for this is the cartoon book Gender Queer

https://www.westernjournal.com/book-depicting-child-pornogra...

Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#29

Post by jackson1442 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #21
yamtaddle wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Classroom libraries are a big deal. Every step taken that makes a teacher's job riskier, less pleasant, or less like what they want to be doing (teaching kids, without having to worry about whether some plainly-positive action is legal), drives good teachers out of the profession.

It also drives families with kids out of Florida to more sane educational operating environments. Florida already has the worst teacher shortage in the nation: https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/01/22/our-child...

They've even allowed veterans to teach without credentials for up to 5 years (while working on a degree and teaching certificate): https://www.reuters.com/world/us/amid-us-teacher-shortage-fl...

Re: Unapproved books now a felony in Manatee County schools

#30

Post by epicureanideal »

jasonlotito wrote: post #6

> must be selected by a school district employee who holds a valid educational media specialist certificate, The same people who oppose freedom of speech are over here supporting DeSantis and his crusade against education and his push for bigger government.

Free speech is not the same as being able to tell other people’s kids anything you want while they’re attending a mandatory educational institution run in the name of the public.

This law seems like an extreme reaction, but to what many people believe is already an extreme situation.

See also: https://youtu.be/TwucVRj_mdc

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