FL Book Bans Limited Under Law Signed By Gov. DeSantis: Reports

FLORIDA ? After a 2022 law led to the removal of thousands of books from Florida classrooms and school media centers, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday that limits book bans in the state, according to multiple reports.

Now, Florida residents who aren?t the parent or guardian of a student ?may not object to more than one material per month? in their county, according to the amendment to House Bill 1285.

Previously, there was no limit to book challenges in place. The law?s initial language allowed any person, whether they were a parent or not or didn?t live in the school district, to challenge as many books as they?d like as often as they?d like in a district.

• Also Read: 2,672 Titles Challenged In Book Bans In Florida in 2020-23

There were 33 attempts to ban or restrict books in the Sunshine State 2023, with 2,672 titles affected, Patch previously reported.

Florida is responsible for 72 percent of book bans in the United States, according to PEN America, a nonprofit advocacy group.

DeSantis blamed liberal activists for the surge in complaints about books on school shelves.

?The idea that someone can use the parents rights and the curriculum transparency to start objecting to every single book to try to make a mockery of this is just wrong,? DeSantis said the day before signing the bill. ?That?s performative. That?s political.?

He accused them of trying to ?weaponize? the process by ?objecting to normal books,? Fox News reported.

The new provision to the bill "protects schools from activists trying to politicize and disrupt a district's book review process," the governor?s office said, according to NBC News.

Most of the book challenges are actually made by conservative individuals and organizations, such as Moms for Liberty, PEN America said.

?The majority of books that we see being removed are books that talk about LBTQ+ identities, that include characters of color, that talk about race and racism, that include depictions of sexual experiences in the most broadest interpretation of that understanding,? according to Kasey Meehan, Pen America?s Freedom to Read program director.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.