Penguin Random House Sues School District Over Ron DeSantis' Don't Say Gay Bill

Protest against Florida education policy outside Orlando City Hall Photo: Anadolu agency

Penguin and one of the leading writers&#39 ; the group sued a Florida school district for seizing library books under Governor Ron DeSantis. controversial film «Don't Say You're Gay» law.

Writers' PEN America, which includes Sir Salman Rushdie, and Penguin Random House say that removing 10 books from library shelves violates the First Amendment. Among them are books by Toni Morrison and Alice Sebold.

The lawsuit alleges that the Escambia County School District and its school board restrict books about racial or LGBTQ people+ questions on the basis that they violated a bill signed by Mr. DeSantis.

Florida's Educational Parental Rights Act dubbed «Don't Say You're Gay!» The law, by critics, forbids teachers from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with children with elementary school students. He was defended by Mr. DeSantis, who is preparing to run for president in 2024.

The lawsuit does not list Mr. DeSantis as a defendant, although the Republican governor is the most prominent supporter of culture wars in the class.< /p>

The 44-year-old is expected to challenge Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in the coming days and sees political divisions over race, sexual orientation and gender as red food for the GOP base.

Parental rights &#39 ;violation'

The lawsuit alleges that the Educational Parental Rights Act only applies to «classroom activities» and not to library materials, so the school violated the parent's rules' and students' First Amendment Rights.

“Books have the power to change lives for the better, and students in particular deserve equal access to a wide range of perspectives. Censorship in the form of a ban on books like the one adopted by Escambia County is a direct threat to democracy and our constitutional rights,” said Nihar Malavia, executive director of Penguin Random House.

PEN America, which has monitors school textbook bans, advocates for literary freedom, and is made up of 7,500 professional writers, including authors whose books have been removed or restricted by the school district.

The lawsuit states that in each case, the school board voted in favor of remove the books due to the recommendation of the district review committee, which found them suitable for teaching.

In one of the examples given in the lawsuit, the teacher admitted that she had never heard of the book «It's good to be quiet» by Stephen Chbosky, but objected to the novel based on excerpts from a website banning the books.

Other books removed include: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; «Girls from Nowhere» by Amy Reed; and «Lucky» Alice Sebold. The lawsuit states that more than 150 additional books are under review by the school board.

Escambia County has not commented on the lawsuit.