Here’s a list of all books that are under review or banned in Central Florida schools

Stack of books – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by jakkaje879

More than 2,500 books have been removed from school shelves in America in the past year as conservative groups coordinate their focus on literature for various reasons, frequently because of racial or gender themes.

In the period from July 2021 to June 2022, PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans records 2,532 instances of specific books being prohibited, along with 1,648 other book titles.

Approximately 41 percent of the banned works featured LGBTQ themes, main characters, or significant supporting characters. Characters of color made up 40 percent of the main or significant secondary characters, while 21 percent of the titles dealt with racial and racist topics.

A total of 22 percent of the prohibited books included explicit material.

Almost every state now has a branch of Moms for Liberty, a Brevard County-based organization that has since gone nationwide and is responsible for most of the bans. In addition to public libraries, these organizations are focusing on school libraries and are pushing for leadership positions in school districts.

Moms for Liberty said it is committed to “unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”

The group also stated that it is resisting school indoctrination and supporting limited government involvement.

PEN America and other Moms for Liberty detractors charge the organizations with undermining and intimidating educators and other parents by using the term “parents’ rights.”

“While parents and guardians ought to be partners with educators in their children’s education, and need channels for communicating with school administrators, teachers, and librarians, particularly concerning the education of their own children, public schools are by design supposed to rely on the expertise, ethics, and discretion of educational professionals to make decisions,” PEN America said in the report.

A number of regulations passed by the Florida Legislature this year that provide parents more options for removing books they disagree with have inspired groups throughout the Sunshine State. This includes HB 1467, which provides for increased public monitoring of school libraries and instructional materials, HB 7, commonly known as the “Stop WOKE” Act, and the Parental Rights in Education Act, also dubbed by detractors as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

In its directory for Florida, PEN America reports 566 bans in 21 districts. Three novels that were prohibited from Seminole County elementary schools this summer are not included in this list.

The lists that follow are a combination of those from PEN America’s index and the 10 Central Florida school districts that provided responses.

Stories that matter are our priority. At Florida Insider, we make sure that the information we provide our readers is accurate, easy-to-read, and informative. Whether you are interested in business, education, government, history, sports, real estate, nature or travel: we have something for everyone. Follow along for the best stories in the Sunshine State.

Krystal S

Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.