‘Is that what you want your school district spending money on?’ asked one free speech advocate.
Major publishers and authors are suing Florida over its book ban law
Major publishers and authors are suing Florida over its law banning books deemed to have sexual content, saying the law violates free speech.
Straight Arrow News
A Florida school board has spent more than $100,000 to keep a children’s picture book about a same-sex penguin pair off its library shelves.
The Escambia County School Board has paid a law firm at least $107,000 to defend its removal of “And Tango Makes Three” after a federal lawsuit was filed by its authors, according to documentation obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida through public records requests.
And that doesn’t take into account the flurry of legal activity over the summer; the last expensed services in the documentation were from June.
Regardless, that amount makes up only a minority of the legal fees the board has paid out for recent book banning-related lawsuits.
It’s paid at least $255,000 in legal fees to defend itself against another federal lawsuit. This one was filed by national free speech group PEN America, book publisher Penguin Random House, book authors and the parents of students who were denied access to school library books.
Like the other case, the last listed expensed services were in June. And that case has also seen a busy summer.
In its contract with the law firm RumbergerKirk, the Escambia County School Board agreed to pay $200 an hour for partners, $150 hourly for associates and $100 hourly for paralegals, while also reimbursing “all reasonable expenses.”
“The question is: Is that what you want your school district spending money on, which could go to providing services or books or hiring staff, rather than defending a decision to keep people from reading a book that some people don’t like,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
In both lawsuits, those suing accuse school officials of violating the First Amendment with their book bans.
And, in both, those officials say they have the right to remove or restrict any book for any reason, saying such decisions are protected government speech, a legal doctrine that says when the government is communicating its own messages or promoting particular policies, it’s not required to provide equal opportunities for opposing viewpoints.
Florida school districts have put book back on shelves
“And Tango Makes Three” is based on a true story and follows two male penguins at a New York zoo raising a chick together.
Escambia County school board members banned it from school shelves last year, ignoring its Instructional Materials Review Committee’s recommendation to allow it to remain.
“They removed ‘Tango’ because of its content – namely, the story of a same-sex animal couple – and its expressed viewpoint – namely, that same-sex relationships and families with same-sex parents exist; that they can be happy, healthy, and loving; and that same-sex parents can adopt and raise healthy children,” reads the lawsuit from the book’s authors, Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, and an elementary schooler who wants to check out the book from the school library.
The Escambia County School Board is not alone in removing “And Tango Makes Three” – but others have put it back on the shelves after facing litigation. Lake County school officials were among the defendants initially sued by Parnell and Richardson, but a judge dismissed them from the case after they returned the book.
And, on Wednesday, the Nassau County School Board agreed to place books it banned back on library shelves as part of an out-of-court settlement. One of them was “And Tango Makes Three.”
More: Facing First Amendment lawsuit, Florida school board returns banned books to shelves
In the agreement, the board explicitly said that book had no obscene material, was appropriate for all ages and had pedagogical value.
“The fact that another district has said this is notable,” said Lauren Zimmerman, an attorney at law firm Selendy Gay, which is representing the plaintiffs in both lawsuits. “The settlement is a watershed moment in the ongoing battle against book censorship in our country.”
Nevertheless, the Escambia County School Board’s block on “And Tango Makes Three” remains.
“Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on pending litigation,” said Cody Strother, a school district spokesperson, in an email. RumbergerKirk attorneys didn’t respond to requests for comment Thursday afternoon.
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com.
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Publish date : 2024-09-12 22:12:00
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