Penguin Random House, PEN America File Lawsuit Against Florida School Board Over Book Ban

Publishing giant Penguin Random House, free expression organization PEN America and the authors of books banned by Florida’s Escambia County School District have filed a federal lawsuit in hopes of bringing the books back to school library shelves.

Parents of students impacted by the “unconstitutional” book ban are also the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which states that Escambia County School District has restricted and removed access to books that discuss race, racism, and LGBTQ identities.

“Ensuring that students have access to books on a wide range of topics and expressing a diversity of viewpoints supports a core function of public education, preparing students to be thoughtful and engaged citizens,” PEN America said in a statement. 

“In contravention of these basic principles, the lawsuit alleges, Escambia County has set out to exclude certain ideas from their school libraries by removing or restricting books, some of which have been on the shelves for years — even decades. This lawsuit brings together authors whose books have been banned, parents and students in the district who cannot access the books, and a publisher in a first-of-its-kind challenge to unlawful censorship.”

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Pensacola district court, states that by banning the books — which goes against “the recommendations of the district review committee charged with evaluating book challenges ” — the school district violates the First Amendment.

“By ignoring these recommendations, the school district made clear that its interests are in censoring certain ideas and viewpoints, not pedagogy, and that it is willing to allow an extremist minority to substitute its political agenda for the judgment of educators and parents” PEN America added.

In the aftermath of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill and his attacks on critical race theory, the Escambia County School District has restricted access or removed hundreds of books over the past year, from Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five to Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye to Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. The lawsuit aligned with five authors of banned books that dealt with LGBTQ+ and race issues, specifically: Sarah Brannen (Uncle Bobby’s Wedding), George M. Johnson (All Boys Aren’t Blue), David Levithan (Two Boys Kissing), Kyle Lukoff (When Aidan Became a Brother) and Ashley Hope Pérez (Out of Darkness). 

“This is no accident,” the lawsuit states. “The clear agenda behind the campaign to remove the books is to categorically remove all discussion of racial discrimination or LGBTQ issues from public school libraries. Government action may not be premised on such discriminatory motivations.”

“Young readers in Escambia schools and across the nation deserve a complete and honest education, one that provides them with full access in libraries to a wide range of literature that reflects varied viewpoints and that explores the diversity of human experiences,” author Ashley Hope Pérez said in a statement. “As a former public high school English teacher, I know firsthand how important libraries are. For many young people, if a book isn’t in their school library, it might as well not exist.”

“Children in a democracy must not be taught that books are dangerous. The freedom to read is guaranteed by the constitution,” Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, added in a statement. “In Escambia County, state censors are spiriting books off shelves in a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices. In a nation built on free speech, this cannot stand. The law demands that the Escambia County School District put removed or restricted books back on library shelves where they belong.”