Florida school district must return LGBTQ books to libraries after settlement

A school district in northeastern Florida must return three dozen books related to race and the LGBTQ community to school libraries as part of a settlement.

A school district in northeastern Florida must return three dozen books related to race and the LGBTQ community to school libraries as part of a settlement reached Thursday with authors, parents and students.

The Nassau County School Board removed 36 books last year after the titles were challenged by Citizens Defending Freedom, a conservative advocacy group. The books included “And Tango Makes Three,” a popular children’s book by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson based on the true story of two male penguins who raised a chick together at New York’s Central Park Zoo, as well as classics such as “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “Crank” by Ellen Hopkins.

“This settlement — a watershed moment in the ongoing battle against book censorship in the United States — significantly restores access to important works that were unlawfully removed from the shelves of Nassau County, Florida’s public school libraries,” said Lauren Zimmerman, an attorney with the New York law firm Selendy Gay, which sued the district on behalf of Parnell and Richardson, along with Florida parents Sara Moerman, Toby Lentz and their children. 

“Students will once again have access to books from well-known and highly-lauded authors representing a broad range of viewpoints and ideas,” Zimmerman added in a statement. 

The Nassau County School Board did not immediately return a request for comment.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/florida-school-return-lgbtq-books-settlement-rcna171032

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