CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – After years of ongoing debate in Clay County regarding which books should be permitted in school libraries, the School Board has finally established a library policy.
The Clay County School Board quietly adopted its library and media policy earlier this month after a contentious few years of debate over what some critics referred to as book banning while many parents believe it simply gets inappropriate content out of school libraries, a subject that divided the public.
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The policy now requires parental consent to check out books if they contain subjects such as:
- Profanity
- Horror
- Violence
- Glorification of weapons
- Glorification of suicide, self-harm, or mental illness
- Glorification of drug, alcohol, or tobacco use by minors
- Gender theory, medical transition
- Specific sexual content
If you wish to challenge a book in Clay School libraries, there are now defined procedures. If you’re a parent of a student, you can challenge as many books as you like, but if you don’t have a child enrolled, you can only challenge one book per month.
Related: Clay County parents want their input considered in school library book policy decisions | Video of Clay County father challenging contents of school book makes national headlines
Clay County parent Bruce Friedman, who spearheaded the fight in 2022, attempted to read a controversial book at a school board meeting. School Board member Michele Hanson said Friedman ironically ended up being the sole reason for the removal of nearly 400 obscene materials from school libraries. But in the end, she said these new guidelines were passed without much drama and now follow state mandates laid out by the Florida legislature.
“Basically, we have to remove porn and they laid it out as far as what is porn,” School Board member Beth Clark said. “There are certain guidelines that the district has to follow. So it’s pretty straightforward for those that deal with it every day.”
And just because a book is challenged doesn’t mean it’s pulled from the shelves. Of 859 titles that were challenged in Clay County, only 334 books were removed from libraries.