Mastodawn

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

1. Florida teachers are being told to remove all books from their classroom libraries OR FACE FELONY PROSECUTION

The new policy is based on the premise that teachers are using books to "groom" students or indoctrinate them with leftist ideologies.

🧵

https://popular.info/p/florida-teachers-told-to-remove-books

Florida teachers told to remove books from classroom libraries or risk felony prosecution

Teachers in Manatee County, Florida, are being told to make their classroom libraries — and any other "unvetted" book — inaccessible to students, or risk felony prosecution. The new policy is part of an effort to comply with new laws and regulations championed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R). It is based on the premise, promoted by right-wing advocacy groups, that teachers and librarians are using books to "groom" students or indoctrinate them with leftist ideologies.

Popular Information

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

2. Officials from the Manatee County School District confirmed the new policy to http://popular.info.

The policy was communicated to principals in a meeting last Wednesday.

Teachers are in the process of being informed now.

Popular Information | Judd Legum | Substack

Independent accountability journalism. Click to read Popular Information, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

3. Teachers in Manatee County lamented the news on social media. "My heart is broken for Florida students today as I am forced to pack up my classroom library," one Manatee teacher wrote on Facebook.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

4. Another Manatee teacher called the directive "a travesty to education" that interfered with efforts to "connect with books and develop [a] love of lifelong learning."

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

5. The new policy in Manatee, which is likely to be duplicated across Florida, was issued in response to HB 1467, which was signed into law by DeSantis last March.

That law established that teachers could not be trusted to select books appropriate for their students.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

6. Instead, all books in libraries or used in classroom instruction must be selected by a "media specialist" (aka, a librarian).

This means that classroom libraries that are curated by teachers, not librarians, are now illegal.

https://popular.info/p/florida-teachers-told-to-remove-books

Florida teachers told to remove books from classroom libraries or risk felony prosecution

Teachers in Manatee County, Florida, are being told to make their classroom libraries — and any other "unvetted" book — inaccessible to students, or risk felony prosecution. The new policy is part of an effort to comply with new laws and regulations championed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R). It is based on the premise, promoted by right-wing advocacy groups, that teachers and librarians are using books to "groom" students or indoctrinate them with leftist ideologies.

Popular Information

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

7. The Manatee County School District is mandating that teachers make their classroom libraries inaccessible until they can establish that each book is approved by a librarian

Some teachers packed up their classroom libraries. Others covered up the books with construction paper

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

8. Restoring student access to classroom libraries is a complex process. First, someone must cross-check each book in their classroom library with the district library catalog

Any book not currently held in the district libraries must be evaluated and approved by a librarian

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

9. And that's just the beginning. Materials prepared for an upcoming Manatee County School Board meeting include a 21-point list of procedures to ensure that classroom libraries comply with the new rules.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

10. As a result, one Manatee teacher reported being forced to take Sneezy the Snowman and Dragons Love Tacos off the shelves pending review. Other teachers, fearing criminal liability, are telling students not to bring in "unvetted" books from home.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

11. Librarians in Manatee County are now expected to review thousands of books in classroom libraries to ensure compliance with the new law. Any mistake could result in criminal charges. Manatee has 64 public schools and 3,000 teachers, many of whom maintain classroom libraries.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

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Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

13. The librarian's review of classroom books must also be consistent with a complex training, which was heavily influenced by right-wing groups like Moms For Liberty and approved by the Florida Department of Education just last week.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

14. Popular Information asked Manatee Schools Chief of Staff Kevin Chapman if librarians & teachers were expected to remove books that violated the Parental Rights In Education Act, known as "Don't Say Gay" or the Stop WOKE Act, which limits classroom discussion of racial issues

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

15. Chapman did not answer the question, saying only that librarians are expected to apply the training issued by the Florida Department of Education last week.

That training, Chapman says, includes "new definitions of inappropriate material."

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

16. "Don't Say Gay" prohibits all instruction on "sexual orientation or gender identity" in K-3 classrooms and instruction in other grades that is "not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate." But the law applies only to "[c]lassroom instruction" — not library books.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

17. The Stop WOKE Act is also limited to classroom instruction.

The teacher training approved by the Florida Department of Education, however, does not inform librarians that "Don't Say Gay" and "Stop WOKE" do not apply to library books.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

18. Rather, librarians are told: "There is some overlap between the selection criteria for instructional and library materials." One slide says that library books and instructional materials cannot include "unsolicited theories that may lead to student indoctrination."

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

19. A subsequent slide provides a list of "unsolicited theories that may lead to student indoctrination," which includes information about "sexual orientation or gender identity." It also includes a variety of topics related to race.

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

20. The training instructs librarians to "err on the side of caution."

As Popular Information reported earlier this month, Manatee County schools have already removed several books from school libraries because they contain LGBTQ characters or themes.

https://popular.info/p/dont-say-gay-florida-schools-purge

"Don't Say Gay": Florida schools purge library books with LGBTQ characters

In March 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law the Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill. DeSantis angrily accused the media of promoting a "false narrative," insisting the bill does not prohibit mentioning LGBTQ people in Florida schools.

Popular Information

Judd Legum Jan 23, 2023

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Beckysay Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum this really disgusts me. I watched an interview with Grace Lin the other day, her book A Big Mooncake for Little Star has been on some banned book lists. The only thing in the book that’s “offensive” to these people is that the main character is Asian!
I’m in California thankfully, I spent the last 5 years before retirement building a beautiful diverse inclusive library in our child development center to ensure that every child would have “mirrors and windows”.

David Senk Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum I guess Fahrenheit 451 won’t be on the “approved” list either…

I fully support any teachers that refuse to comply with this bullshit law.

Make a scene, go down kicking and screaming, get carried out by the cops for having “unauthorized” books.

Really hit home how absolutely insane this really is.

Do you know of any non-profits that can be donated to to help teachers fight this?

David Senk Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum And on that note. Any teacher that is charged with this should absolutely take it all the way to a jury trial.

Let DeSantis and his fascists see how jury nullification works.

https://ransom-lawfirm.com/state-v-nicholas-jury-nullification/

Jury Nullification | Law offices of Alexander Ransom

WA Court of Appeals raises and dismisses the issue of whether jury nullification has any place in jury deliberations.

Law offices of Alexander Ransom | Bellingham Criminal Defense

Matthew Nadler Jan 23, 2023

@david @juddlegum What makes you think the jury would side with the teacher?

David Senk Jan 23, 2023

@matthewmuses @juddlegum Well… obviously it depends on how choosy the prosecution and court is on providing a pool of jurors obviously…

Watch 12 Angry Men, all it takes is one juror for the charges to be thrown out.

You, as a juror, have the inherent right to decide what justice actually is.

The facts and laws don’t matter in the slightest. It doesn’t matter how much the judge and attorneys want you to believe otherwise.

Good, bad, or indifferent, that’s reality.

Virginia S. O'Possum Jan 23, 2023

@david @matthewmuses @juddlegum OK, but 12 Angry Men was a *movie*, most teachers can't afford that much lawyering (I hope the ACLU will take these cases) and you can't ask all teachers to risk arrest for felony charges.

David Senk Jan 23, 2023

@VirginiaSOpossum @matthewmuses @juddlegum I agree, it’s a shit place to be, but you better believe, the first instance of a teacher being taken to trial for this I’ll be standing outside the court handing out Jury Nullification fliers until I’m arrested myself.

Matthew Nadler Jan 23, 2023

@david @VirginiaSOpossum @juddlegum Yeah, I don't think that's going to help.

David Senk Jan 23, 2023

@matthewmuses @VirginiaSOpossum @juddlegum doing nothing does nothing to help.

Fascists rely on people giving up and not fighting back to continue to gain power.

I absolutely will hand out jury nullification fliers outside of the court until I’m arrested at the very first instance of a teacher being charged with this. Mark my words.

I’ll even live-toot it. I’m not kidding. Fuck fascism and fuck these book burning assholes.

I will not allow it.

Matthew Nadler Jan 23, 2023

@david @juddlegum One thing the prosecution will look out for is people who will ignore the law.

Did you watch "12 Angry Men?" Jury nullification has nothing to do with plot.

A jury's job is to determine the facts, not the law. If facts and law don't matter, than what's the point?

Jury nullification doesn't change the law. It just acquits the person charged in that case.

David Senk Jan 23, 2023

@matthewmuses @juddlegum yes, I’ve seen it. It was a film about 1 juror changing the minds of all the others.

You don’t get to see the facts of the case, only the deliberations.

My point with that, is it only takes 1 juror to hang a jury or nullify a case entirely.

You, as a juror, have a moral right to do so.

Unjust laws have no business being enforced by anyone. The jury is the ultimate decider of guilt and innocence.

Matthew Nadler Jan 23, 2023

@david @juddlegum
If your goal is to overturn an unjust law, a hung jury or a nullifying jury (not the same thing) doesn't do it.

David Senk Jan 23, 2023

@matthewmuses @juddlegum I understand that, but the fact of the matter is: as an individual juror, you have the power to ignore unjust laws.

I, as a person who lives in Florida, could petition for citizen led legislation, but, the Florida Supreme Court and Tallahassee likes to ignore them sometimes…

Changing the laws themselves is much harder to accomplish than refusing to enforce it in the first place. Unjust laws have no business being enforced by anyone.

naught101 Jan 23, 2023

@david @matthewmuses @juddlegum

This is a very patient set of responses, David.

Over turning the law is surely only one aim from an action like this. There would be many other benefits. E.g. media furor drawing attention to the issue and helping to destabilise the Republican's strangle hold on Florida

You gotta do something, if you can

David Senk Jan 24, 2023

@naught101 @matthewmuses @juddlegum exactly my point!

There’s only so much an individual can do to put sand in the gears of the system, and the more people that are aware of their ability to fight back, the better, imo.

Making a scene and getting attention drawn to the issue is the most impactful thing an individual can do.

It takes lots of individuals working together to effect change.

We’re all in this together, never forget that.

LiberalRocks Jan 24, 2023

@david @naught101 @matthewmuses @juddlegum A lot of people don't have the guts to make a scene and draw attention. I know I don't.

But that's why I created the liberal rocks project. Us scaredy cats and introverts want to do our part too. I'm trying to make the audience for the attention getters more receptive to their messages by starting the insidious messaging quietly.

naught101 Jan 24, 2023

@alexmmr @david @matthewmuses @juddlegum

Nice. It takes all types, IMO. The more diversity of tactics the better!

Corvid Crone Jan 24, 2023

@david @juddlegum and risk losing their right to vote?

Remember that in Florida, despite the vote of the people, DeSantis has made it clear that he does not want felons to vote.

David Senk Jan 24, 2023

@CorvidCrone @juddlegum …I live in Florida. I voted for that amendment.

I am still irritated by the fact that the government of this state has decided citizen led legislation is something to be ignored.

It’s voter suppression, because it makes the process of getting your voting rights back almost impossible to know if you’ve satisfied.

The state has also absolved itself of responsibility if it wrongly issued a voter id! The onus is on them! It’s disgusting.

D2 Jan 23, 2023

@david @juddlegum
I'd likely handcuff myself to the bookshelf when they came for me and have my students watch.

Idyll Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum Really shocking. Florida is becoming a police state.

C0ppertop Jan 23, 2023

@idyll @juddlegum becoming!?

Chalkwhitehands Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum So when do the burnings start?

Bookeater Jan 23, 2023

Rasta™ OLD Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum It's as if, they don't want professionals in charge of learning? Where did that Betsy DeVos go? Did she finally go back to school to get educated?

@juddlegum So those people we entrust our children to for a third of each day, essentially unsupervised and with the mandate of teaching stuff to our kids -- those people cannot be trusted to select books for those same kids?

Bob33iam Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum Why would anyone want to live in Florida!?

MugsysRapSheet Blog ☑️Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum There must be a dozen different famous quotes akin to "stupid people are easier to control" & "education is the enemy of religion/fascism."

But every attempt chips away at the general education level of the populace making the next attempt easier. 🤬 #NaziBookBurning

Kim Possible Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum Not a good sign. No great society has formed out of repression.

Cheryl Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum just what about the rights of people who want to go to libraries….

ChefAleks Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum sorry, joined this thread late. Are we talking about manatees?

Colin Macleod Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum "Fahrenheit 451" here we come!
(I'm in the UK but my wife has relatives in Florida.)
#censorship

Kerri Miller Jan 23, 2023

@juddlegum I'm done with trying to save the South from itself.

Stephen J Kimber Jan 24, 2023

Martin Niemoller's poem comes to mind

First they came for the communists,
and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.

...

...

Then they came for the Jews,
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

As one day became another and others disappeared,
gypsies, mentally retarded, homosexuals, ... and emigrants,
I remained silent because I was not one of them.

Then it was they came for me,
but no one spoke for me because by then there was no one left to speak.