Independent journalism outlet Popular Information has shared the contents of a public data request that was first shared with them by the Florida Freedom to Read Project (FFTRP). It reveals a doc detailing a dialog had between Charlotte County Superintendent Mark Vianello, the varsity board’s legal professional, Michael McKinley, and the district’s librarians.
The librarians needed to know the way to implement the “Don’t Say Gay” enlargement portion of the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act. They requested, “Are we removing books from any school or media center, Prek-12 if a character has, for example, two mothers or because there is a gay best friend or a main character is gay?” To which Vianello and Michael McKinely merely mentioned “Yes.”
This steering utilized even if there was no sexually specific materials. When the librarians requested if books might have LGBTQ+ characters if there wasn’t any sexually specific materials, Vianello and McKinely mentioned, “No. Books with LBGTQ+ characters are not to be included in classroom libraries or school library media centers.”
They went on to say that “[t]hese characters and themes cannot exist.”
With this newest transfer, they’re saying the (not so) quiet half out loud. It’s not about shielding youngsters from inappropriate sexual content material and it by no means has been. They merely need to erase the existence of individuals they wished didn’t exist. Period.
Find extra information and tales of curiosity from the e-book world in Breaking in Books.
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