Major Win Against Book Censorship in Florida School District

Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, authors of the oft-banned And Tango Makes Three, filed a lawsuit in conjunction with two parents and their children in May against the Nassau County School District (FL). The lawsuit claimed that the district violated the First Amendment, as well as Florida’s Sunshine Laws, when they removed 36 books from school library shelves behind closed doors. The books, which included And Tango Makes Three–a picture book about the true story of bonded male penguins at a New York City zoo who incubated and raised an egg–were pulled despite the district not finding anything that violated Florida’s regulations on “obscene” and “sexual” content.

The district banned the books at the behest of Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF), a Christian nationalist group that has been at the forefront of book bans in and beyond the state. The group claimed that And Tango Makes Three contained “alternate sexuality in animals” and thus, was inappropriate. That book was then removed by the district for “lack of circulation.” “Lack of circulation” was the justification given for the removal of two other books as well, while the remaining 33 books were banned for a variety of reasons.

Once the district removed the books, they then changed their own policies on book removal. It allowed for removal of titles without public input. The lawsuit aimed to overturn the district’s decision and sought to return the books to shelves.

Selendy Gay PLLC, the firm on the case, settled the matter in what is a significant victory for the freedom to read and student rights. The Nassau School Board can no longer remove books without public input–a violation of Sunshine Laws–and all of the books pulled from the district will be put back. The Board can no longer remove books with which they disagree with the viewpoint or which have been highlighted by special interest groups such as CDF without following their own processes.

“Would-be censors, such as CDF, who seek to force their will on others by denying access to viewpoints with which they disagree, are not entitled to decide what books our children may read in public school libraries,” said Faith E. Gay of Selendy Gay. “While we have secured a victory today, the fight is far from over. With numerous book banning cases percolating in the courts, we look forward to continuing to protect the First Amendment rights of students, parents, and authors throughout the United States.”

Perhaps the most significant part of the settlement, however, is that the Nassau School Board acknowledged that their decision to remove And Tango Makes Three had no basis. They agreed that the book had value and purpose, that it was not obscene, and that it was appropriate for students of all ages. That not only underscores the inappropriate actions on behalf of the district to remove the book, but it provides more support in one of the two lawsuits underway in Escambia County School District, just five and a half hours west of Nassau.

Parnell and Richardson, as well as a student, filed a First Amendment lawsuit against Escambia for removing their book in the district. That district has spent over $100,000 on that case alone.