Florida schools struggle to apply new book law in which even Shakespeare is 'suspect'

July 14, 2023 1 min read

Douglas Soule and Ana Goñi-Lessan
Tallahassee Democrat

Excerpt: To be or not to be on the shelf? That’s the question school districts across Florida are asking themselves as they figure out how to apply a new book challenge law. In Leon County, a media specialist says even The Bard William Shakespeare could be at risk.

HB 1069 took effect on July 1. Malloy says she and other media specialists around the state are interpreting this to mean that districts could be breaking the law if they do not pull media that contains the state’s definition of “sexual conduct.” That media includes many books needed to take the College Board’s Advanced Placement Literature exam and dual enrollment classes.

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