ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Department of Education is recommending that school districts, including Orange County Public Schools, conduct a 90-day audit of library and classroom materials to ensure books and other resources are age- and developmentally appropriate.
A Sept. 23 memo from Education Commissioner Henry Mack directed districts to review their collections, including books in school and classroom libraries, as well as materials that may have been donated or brought in through book fairs. The memo said districts should not wait for parents to find potentially inappropriate material.
OCPS School Board member Angie Gallo, who represents District 1, said the district already has a process for reviewing books.
“I feel like we’ve been down this road before. I feel like we have a really good process in place in Orange County to go through the books and ensure that they’re appropriate,” Gallo said.
According to OCPS, certified media specialists are responsible for selecting and reviewing materials. Parents can also ask for a book to be reconsidered by filling out a form and giving it to their child’s principal.
“I firmly believe that a parent or guardian or a caregiver should have a say in the child’s education,” Gallo said. “It’s their child. They should absolutely have a say in that education.”
OCPS board member Alicia Farrant, who represents District 3, said she does not believe enough has been done to review school books.
“We’ve got to hold districts accountable,” Farrant said. “If we don’t, it just continues. They slide things under the rug, or they do a little bit to get by and then hope the issue goes away. The issue is parents are now awake. They realize what’s in our libraries, and they don’t want that there.”
Farrant said she previously brought books to the school board’s attention after she and other parents raised concerns about material they considered inappropriate.
“The problem is, the school board refuses to set a standard of what would be appropriate,” Farrant said. “I think we really need to have the state just say it very plainly, which I believe they have. But the rest of the board doesn’t believe that way.”