Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has been criticized by Democrats nation-wide for being authoritarian when it comes to education. Now the governor is attempting to debunk book banning accusations, calling it a "hoax."
Governor DeSantis has now called on the legislature to amend current laws that allow people to abuse standards which are said to be "designed solely to remove inappropriate material from the classroom."
Many have taken this as an opportunity to attempt to ban classic literature, such as Johnny Appleseed, The Giver. Florida Republicans however, claim that these laws only exist to protect children from consuming written content that is inappropriate for children or the public school system.
“Over the past year, parents have used their rights to object to pornographic and sexually explicit material they found in school libraries,” said DeSantis. “We also know that some people have abused this process in an effort to score cheap political points. Today, I am calling on the Legislature to make necessary adjustments so that we can prevent abuses in the objection process and ensure that districts aren’t overwhelmed by frivolous challenges.”
DeSantis has also directed the Department of Education to take crucial steps to appease parental needs. Such as, directing the Department of Education to take the appropriate action to prohibit bad actors in school leadership positions from intentionally depriving students of an education by politicizing the book review process.
“As the Education State, our focus is on academic excellence, not indoctrination,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. “I am proud to stand with Governor DeSantis to ensure that Florida’s academic landscape remains rigorous and comprehensive and provides students with age-appropriate materials to help them achieve the highest academic success.”
Furthermore, the governor's office has officially declared that accusations of "banning books," are patently a myth. The Department of Education stated, "The Department does not ban books. Each school district is responsible for ensuring all the materials in their schools adhere to state education standards."
