Florida hasn’t made reading a crime — not yet, anyway. But it’s doing the next worse thing by dangling threats of criminal charges against teachers and educators who share the “wrong” books with students.
What’s the wrong book? Only state-trained, certified media specialists can make the call. That’s the upshot of Tallahassee’s rush to clamp down on words, thoughts and images in classrooms.
Giving students obscene books has long been a third-degree felony. But in recent weeks, the state Department of Education red-flagged the risk as it implements a new law (HB 1467) signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The state unveiled book-vetting training emphasizing that making a wrong call on a book could net an educator five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
