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A cohort of book publishers and award-winning authors have filed a legal challenge to the 2023 Florida law that enables challenges to books in school libraries.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando, alleges that the process of removing books from school libraries spelled out in  is overbroad and has caused a chilling effect.

The action names members of the Florida Board of Education and Orange and Volusia County school board members as defendants.

HB 1069 has enabled parents to seek removal of materials from schools if school boards deem them to be pornographic or contain sexual content, in line with Gov. Ron DeSantis鈥� 鈥減arental rights鈥� agenda.

The publishers and authors are asking the court to deem the state鈥檚 interpretation of 鈥減ornographic鈥� and content that 鈥渄escribes sexual conduct鈥� unconstitutional.

鈥淭he State has mandated that school districts impose a regime of strict censorship in school libraries,鈥� the plaintiffs argued in a 93-page complaint. 鈥淗B 1069 requires school districts to remove library books without regard to their literary, artistic, political, scientific, or educational value when taken as a whole.鈥�

The plaintiffs are Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishing Group, Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks, and the Authors Guild, plus authors Julia Alvarez, John Green, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas.

Two parents joined the suit, one from Orange and the other from Volusia, arguing for their children to be able to check out books that have been removed by challenges permitted by the law.

They argue the law does not specify a level or amount of detail to determine if a book 鈥渄escribes sexual conduct.鈥�

Overbroad

The law has created a chilling effect, the plaintiffs argue.

鈥淭he term 鈥榙escribes sexual conduct鈥� is so broad that it would require removal of the Oxford English Dictionary 鈥� which defines 鈥榮ex鈥� as 鈥榩hysical activity between two people in which the touch each other鈥檚 sexual organs, and which may include sexual intercourse鈥� 鈥� from school libraries. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, is not obscene,鈥� the lawsuit reads.

鈥淭his vagueness and ambiguity result in overbroad interpretations of [the law鈥檚] prohibition on content that describes sexual conduct and chill protected speech.鈥�

In an email response to the Phoenix, Department of Education communications director Sydney Booker said the lawsuit is a 鈥渟tunt.鈥�

鈥淭here are no banned books in Florida. Sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for schools,鈥� she said.

The publishers call for the state government to keep hands off, even in school libraries.

鈥淎uthors have the right to communicate their ideas to students without undue interference from the government,鈥� the plaintiffs wrote. 鈥淪tudents have a corresponding right to receive those ideas. Publishers and educators connect authors to students. If the State of Florida dislikes an author鈥檚 idea, it can offer a competing message. It cannot suppress the disfavored message.鈥�

鈥楴ot remotely obscene鈥�

The plaintiffs argue that they do not wish to prevent schools from ensuring school libraries do not have obscene materials. Instead, their problem is with removing books deemed to be 鈥減ornographic that are not remotely obscene resulting from the Florida State Board of Education鈥檚 unconstitutional construction of the term 鈥榩ornographic.’鈥�

The plaintiffs list several books they believe should not have been deemed inappropriate by school boards, including Alvarez鈥檚 鈥淗ow the Garc铆a Girls Lost Their Accents,鈥� Green鈥檚 鈥淟ooking for Alaska,鈥� Anderson鈥檚 鈥淪peak,鈥� Picoult鈥檚 鈥淣ineteen Minutes鈥� and 鈥淐hange of Heart,鈥� and Thomas鈥檚 鈥淐oncrete Rose鈥� and 鈥淭he Hate U Give.鈥�

鈥淎s publishers dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and the right to read, the rise in book bans across the country continues to demand our collective action,鈥� the publishers said in a .

鈥淔ighting unconstitutional legislation in Florida and across the country is an urgent priority. We are unwavering in our support for educators, librarians, students, authors, readers 鈥� everyone deserves access to books and stories that show different perspectives and viewpoints.鈥�

The publishers have also taken over a similar law and challenged the constitutionality book removals in .

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected]. Follow Florida Phoenix on and .

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