ORLANDO, Fla. — A state investigator who looks into teacher misconduct demanded to know who in Orange County Public Schools authorized the purchase of the book “Gender Queer,” a controversial memoir the district pulled from several high school libraries in late October, according to emails between the employee and the school district.
“This office is trying to find out who approved the book,” wrote Ian Dohme, a Florida Department of Education employee, in an email to an OCPS administrator on April 13.
Dohme’s request was alarming because he works for the department’s Office of Professional Practices, said Stephana Ferrell, an Orange County mother and co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, which uncovered the email.
