Florida Freedom to Read Project
@flfreedomread.bsky.social
FL public school parents who believe in preserving access to information in public education and libraries. https://www.fftrp.org/florida_censorship_attempts
Pinned
Florida Freedom to Read Project | Official Merchandise | Bonfire
Florida Freedom to Read Project connects parent organizations across the state to defend every student's right to access information & ideas.
www.bonfire.com
We volunteer our time to research how state laws have impacted educational opportunities for our children. That research requires public records, and public records require money.
You can help support our work and get some anti-censorship apparel at the same time:
www.bonfire.com/store/florid...
You can help support our work and get some anti-censorship apparel at the same time:
www.bonfire.com/store/florid...
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
1. In Tennessee, public libraries have closed for up to a week to facilitate a Trump-inspired book purge.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
Tennessee public libraries close for Trump-inspired book purge
One hundred and eighty-one public libraries in Tennessee are reviewing their children’s collections after Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) ordered them to remove books with LGBTQ themes…
popular.info
November 25, 2025 at 3:09 PM
1. In Tennessee, public libraries have closed for up to a week to facilitate a Trump-inspired book purge.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R) has ordered most of the state's public librarians to remove children's books with LGBTQ characters or themes.
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
Read this article and 🧵 to start your holiday week off with some good library news!
If you don’t already subscribe to Kelly’s Literary Activism newsletter, you should!👇
If you don’t already subscribe to Kelly’s Literary Activism newsletter, you should!👇
A US District Court Judge has issued a permanent injunction in the lawsuit brought by 21 state attorneys general against the Trump administration for dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This means the IMLS cannot be further harmed.
bookriot.com/21-attorney-...
bookriot.com/21-attorney-...
A Major Court Win for IMLS, Libraries
Trump and his administration are barred from dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services, thanks to a judge's ruling.
bookriot.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Read this article and 🧵 to start your holiday week off with some good library news!
If you don’t already subscribe to Kelly’s Literary Activism newsletter, you should!👇
If you don’t already subscribe to Kelly’s Literary Activism newsletter, you should!👇
“Never did the universities appear to question the directive’s legality or the harm it might do to the students we serve. Instead, they worked…to acquiesce to the state’s demands while also shunning the formal processes required for such changes.”
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/23/c...
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/23/c...
Commentary: Censorship and complicity in Florida’s universities
As a UNF professor writes, the Florida Department of Education and the Board of Governors recently demanded the removal of four terms — diversity, equity, inclusion, and culture — from university-b…
www.orlandosentinel.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:49 PM
“Never did the universities appear to question the directive’s legality or the harm it might do to the students we serve. Instead, they worked…to acquiesce to the state’s demands while also shunning the formal processes required for such changes.”
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/23/c...
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/23/c...
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
They banned Elatsoe in Florida 😭 My mystery about a girl and her ghost dog!!!
November Is the Month to Celebrate Native American Culture, but the Stories That Do So Are Getting Banned
Here are some #BannedBooks to read this #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth https://pen.org/banned-native-american-books/
Here are some #BannedBooks to read this #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth https://pen.org/banned-native-american-books/
November is the Month to Celebrate Native American Culture, but the Stories That Do So Are Getting Banned
The list below includes a portion of the books written by or about Indigenous people removed from school libraries and classrooms since 2021.
pen.org
November 21, 2025 at 10:14 PM
They banned Elatsoe in Florida 😭 My mystery about a girl and her ghost dog!!!
Nassau County Public Schools reviewed 20 books facing objection on 11/20.
3 were placed under parent advisory with limited HS access
17 were permanently removed, including 10 titles that were returned to shelves under the 2024 settlement agreement.
nassauk12flus.sharepoint.com/:x:/s/Extern...
3 were placed under parent advisory with limited HS access
17 were permanently removed, including 10 titles that were returned to shelves under the 2024 settlement agreement.
nassauk12flus.sharepoint.com/:x:/s/Extern...
November 22, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Nassau County Public Schools reviewed 20 books facing objection on 11/20.
3 were placed under parent advisory with limited HS access
17 were permanently removed, including 10 titles that were returned to shelves under the 2024 settlement agreement.
nassauk12flus.sharepoint.com/:x:/s/Extern...
3 were placed under parent advisory with limited HS access
17 were permanently removed, including 10 titles that were returned to shelves under the 2024 settlement agreement.
nassauk12flus.sharepoint.com/:x:/s/Extern...
Clay County Public Schools received 100 objections for November (led by one man).
31 Removed
24 Age or Grade Restricted
20 Require Parent Permission
18 Retained
2 Age or Grade Restricted + Parent Permission
5 Not in the Collection
None of these titles were considered in their entirety.
31 Removed
24 Age or Grade Restricted
20 Require Parent Permission
18 Retained
2 Age or Grade Restricted + Parent Permission
5 Not in the Collection
None of these titles were considered in their entirety.
November 21, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Clay County Public Schools received 100 objections for November (led by one man).
31 Removed
24 Age or Grade Restricted
20 Require Parent Permission
18 Retained
2 Age or Grade Restricted + Parent Permission
5 Not in the Collection
None of these titles were considered in their entirety.
31 Removed
24 Age or Grade Restricted
20 Require Parent Permission
18 Retained
2 Age or Grade Restricted + Parent Permission
5 Not in the Collection
None of these titles were considered in their entirety.
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
Three states have anti-book ban bills on deck coming into 2026. Here's what those bills look like, how to get involved, and what the advocates behind the recently-passed freedom to read bill in Rhode Island learned through the process.
bookriot.com/right-to-rea...
bookriot.com/right-to-rea...
What To Know & How to Help Pass Three State-Level Anti-Book Ban Bills for 2026: Book Censorship News, November 21, 2025
Three states have anti-book ban bills on deck for 2026. Here's what they are, why they matter, and how you can get involved in their passage.
bookriot.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Three states have anti-book ban bills on deck coming into 2026. Here's what those bills look like, how to get involved, and what the advocates behind the recently-passed freedom to read bill in Rhode Island learned through the process.
bookriot.com/right-to-rea...
bookriot.com/right-to-rea...
“Until now, students who are blind or low-vision have had to ask for help when selecting a book, then wait for it to be transcribed.
Now students have an entire collection at their fingertips.”
www.wfla.com/news/hillsbo...
Now students have an entire collection at their fingertips.”
www.wfla.com/news/hillsbo...
www.wfla.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:25 PM
“Until now, students who are blind or low-vision have had to ask for help when selecting a book, then wait for it to be transcribed.
Now students have an entire collection at their fingertips.”
www.wfla.com/news/hillsbo...
Now students have an entire collection at their fingertips.”
www.wfla.com/news/hillsbo...
As professors at FL universities, we have watched with alarm as a provision against…”unproven, speculative, or exploratory content”…has been used to limit student exposure...The Phoenix Declaration gives leeway for the K-12 curriculum to be similarly impoverished.
www.tallahassee.com/story/opinio...
www.tallahassee.com/story/opinio...
The Phoenix Declaration is no solution to Florida’s education problems | Opinion
The DOE’s endorsement serves as another indication of the capture of policymaking in our state by the extremist Heritage Foundation.
www.tallahassee.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:03 PM
As professors at FL universities, we have watched with alarm as a provision against…”unproven, speculative, or exploratory content”…has been used to limit student exposure...The Phoenix Declaration gives leeway for the K-12 curriculum to be similarly impoverished.
www.tallahassee.com/story/opinio...
www.tallahassee.com/story/opinio...
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
Florida just became the first state in the nation to adopt the Phoenix Declaration, a vague, Heritage-written framework that could reshape public education in far-reaching ways.
Let’s stay informed, stay organized, and protect the freedom to learn.
www.freedomtoreadproject.org/the_phoenix_...
Let’s stay informed, stay organized, and protect the freedom to learn.
www.freedomtoreadproject.org/the_phoenix_...
The Phoenix Declaration: What It Is and What Floridians Can Expect Now That the State Has Become the First to Adopt It
Florida quietly adopted the Heritage Foundation’s vague Phoenix Declaration, enabling future curriculum restrictions, increased censorship, educator pressure, and deeper ideological control over publi...
www.freedomtoreadproject.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Florida just became the first state in the nation to adopt the Phoenix Declaration, a vague, Heritage-written framework that could reshape public education in far-reaching ways.
Let’s stay informed, stay organized, and protect the freedom to learn.
www.freedomtoreadproject.org/the_phoenix_...
Let’s stay informed, stay organized, and protect the freedom to learn.
www.freedomtoreadproject.org/the_phoenix_...
To every single person outraged over mascot erasure, please remember to share that passion for school funding, teacher pay and student success. Because without those things, you may find yourself with no mascot at all.
And wouldn’t that be a devil of a problem?
www.tampabay.com/viewpoints/2...
And wouldn’t that be a devil of a problem?
www.tampabay.com/viewpoints/2...
The lessons learned from St. Pete High’s Green Devil mascot fiasco | Column
Community gets fired up over education issues.
www.tampabay.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:52 PM
To every single person outraged over mascot erasure, please remember to share that passion for school funding, teacher pay and student success. Because without those things, you may find yourself with no mascot at all.
And wouldn’t that be a devil of a problem?
www.tampabay.com/viewpoints/2...
And wouldn’t that be a devil of a problem?
www.tampabay.com/viewpoints/2...
Florida’s rapidly expanding voucher program effectively bankrupted the K–12 funding formula in 2024–25, resulting in a $47 million deficit.
Today, the FL Legislature received a briefing on the Auditor General’s operational audit detailing how the system failed.
accountabaloney.com/whatever-cou...
Today, the FL Legislature received a briefing on the Auditor General’s operational audit detailing how the system failed.
accountabaloney.com/whatever-cou...
“Whatever could go wrong, Has gone wrong” – Accountabaloney
accountabaloney.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Florida’s rapidly expanding voucher program effectively bankrupted the K–12 funding formula in 2024–25, resulting in a $47 million deficit.
Today, the FL Legislature received a briefing on the Auditor General’s operational audit detailing how the system failed.
accountabaloney.com/whatever-cou...
Today, the FL Legislature received a briefing on the Auditor General’s operational audit detailing how the system failed.
accountabaloney.com/whatever-cou...
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
ALL MY RAGE by Sabaa Tahir is one of the most powerful, heart-shattering, and healing YA novels of our time. Tahir delivers a story about friendship, trauma, family, forgiveness, & the long reach of generational pain, all told with stunning empathy & honesty.
Let young people read widely & bravely.
Let young people read widely & bravely.
November 19, 2025 at 3:12 PM
ALL MY RAGE by Sabaa Tahir is one of the most powerful, heart-shattering, and healing YA novels of our time. Tahir delivers a story about friendship, trauma, family, forgiveness, & the long reach of generational pain, all told with stunning empathy & honesty.
Let young people read widely & bravely.
Let young people read widely & bravely.
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
We are thrilled that reason has prevailed in Missouri and library books will be returned to the shelves!. www.stlpr.org/government-p...
Missouri court strikes down book ban law that pushed libraries to remove hundreds of titles
A law creating a misdemeanor offense for school employees who supply ‘sexually explicit material’ to students is now void.
www.stlpr.org
November 19, 2025 at 3:16 AM
We are thrilled that reason has prevailed in Missouri and library books will be returned to the shelves!. www.stlpr.org/government-p...
One of the last surviving actors to be blacklisted during the anti-communist Red Scare, the Academy Award-winning performer is speaking out against FL’s new standards, which critics have warned are aimed at rewriting one of the most repressive chapters in American history.
apnews.com/article/flor...
apnews.com/article/flor...
Lee Grant, blacklisted during McCarthyism, is speaking out against Florida's teaching standards
At 100 years old, Lee Grant knows the cost of McCarthyism better than almost anyone else on the planet.
apnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
One of the last surviving actors to be blacklisted during the anti-communist Red Scare, the Academy Award-winning performer is speaking out against FL’s new standards, which critics have warned are aimed at rewriting one of the most repressive chapters in American history.
apnews.com/article/flor...
apnews.com/article/flor...
“[It] forces public school students to foot the bill for co-location, invites charters to run on conflicting bell schedules that can disrupt learning & has sparked chaos by letting operators lay claim to entire clusters of schools w/o any plan or accountability.”
floridapolitics.com/archives/765...
floridapolitics.com/archives/765...
‘Schools of Hope’ charter operators claim tens of thousands of seats in Florida public schools
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Manatee counties collectively show some of the highest concentrations of claims in the state.
floridapolitics.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:20 PM
“[It] forces public school students to foot the bill for co-location, invites charters to run on conflicting bell schedules that can disrupt learning & has sparked chaos by letting operators lay claim to entire clusters of schools w/o any plan or accountability.”
floridapolitics.com/archives/765...
floridapolitics.com/archives/765...
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
Want to speak up for the Freedom to Read and get the press to pay attention? Here are quick, effective tips.
Your voice matters. And when the press hears it, the public does too.
Keep showing up, keep speaking out, and keep defending the right to read.
#FreedomToRead #BookCensorship #PressFreedom
Your voice matters. And when the press hears it, the public does too.
Keep showing up, keep speaking out, and keep defending the right to read.
#FreedomToRead #BookCensorship #PressFreedom
November 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Want to speak up for the Freedom to Read and get the press to pay attention? Here are quick, effective tips.
Your voice matters. And when the press hears it, the public does too.
Keep showing up, keep speaking out, and keep defending the right to read.
#FreedomToRead #BookCensorship #PressFreedom
Your voice matters. And when the press hears it, the public does too.
Keep showing up, keep speaking out, and keep defending the right to read.
#FreedomToRead #BookCensorship #PressFreedom
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
Using AI to “vet” & “review” library book purchase lists & collections for compliance with confusing, overly broad laws.
What could go wrong? 🫠
Find out over on the @txfreedomread.bsky.social blog today in this guest post by TX school librarian Rachael Welsh.
www.txftrp.org/texas_school...
What could go wrong? 🫠
Find out over on the @txfreedomread.bsky.social blog today in this guest post by TX school librarian Rachael Welsh.
www.txftrp.org/texas_school...
Texas School Districts are Overwhelmed by New Library Laws: AI is Not the Answer
School Librarian, Rachael Welsh, shares insights and observations about the pitfalls and risks of using AI in library purchasing, reconsideration, and more.
www.txftrp.org
October 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Using AI to “vet” & “review” library book purchase lists & collections for compliance with confusing, overly broad laws.
What could go wrong? 🫠
Find out over on the @txfreedomread.bsky.social blog today in this guest post by TX school librarian Rachael Welsh.
www.txftrp.org/texas_school...
What could go wrong? 🫠
Find out over on the @txfreedomread.bsky.social blog today in this guest post by TX school librarian Rachael Welsh.
www.txftrp.org/texas_school...
“This new unit is a dangerous recasting of McCarthyism as patriotism and dissent as ‘un-American.’… education should champion the exploration of diverse perspectives. A classroom should be a place where ideas meet, not where ideology reigns.”
A “dangerous recasting” of McCarthyism as patriotism: PEN America statement on Florida’s new social studies standards that establish a unit on “The History of Communism” for grades 6-12 https://pen.org/press-release/new-florida-curriculum-is-dangerous-recasting-of-mccarthyism/
New Florida Curriculum on Communism is a “Dangerous Recasting” of McCarthyism
(MIAMI)-- PEN America today criticized Florida's new social studies standards that established a unit on “The History of Communism” for grades 6-12, calling it a “dangerous recasting” of McCarthyism as patriotism. PEN America Florida Director William Jo...
pen.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:57 PM
“This new unit is a dangerous recasting of McCarthyism as patriotism and dissent as ‘un-American.’… education should champion the exploration of diverse perspectives. A classroom should be a place where ideas meet, not where ideology reigns.”
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
What is Take Back The Classroom? A deep dive into the project making its way into right-wing circles, aiding in book bans nationwide. Who is behind it? How does it work? How are they recruiting new cult members?
Know before it reaches your library.
bookriot.com/what-is-take...
Know before it reaches your library.
bookriot.com/what-is-take...
What Is Take Back The Classroom?: Book Censorship News, November 14, 2025
With the closure of BookLooks, we've seen the rise of Take Back the Classroom. But what is this website and how do their book "reviews" work?
bookriot.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:18 PM
What is Take Back The Classroom? A deep dive into the project making its way into right-wing circles, aiding in book bans nationwide. Who is behind it? How does it work? How are they recruiting new cult members?
Know before it reaches your library.
bookriot.com/what-is-take...
Know before it reaches your library.
bookriot.com/what-is-take...
“Schrecker, the McCarthyism expert, said the standards present “a very narrow and repressive view of American history” that reinforces the status quo and obscures historical moments that sparked social and political change.”
apnews.com/article/flor...
apnews.com/article/flor...
What to know about how Florida will teach McCarthyism and the Cold War
Students in Florida’s public schools will soon be learning an interpretation of McCarthyism and the Cold War that is steeped in rhetoric of that era.
apnews.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:05 PM
“Schrecker, the McCarthyism expert, said the standards present “a very narrow and repressive view of American history” that reinforces the status quo and obscures historical moments that sparked social and political change.”
apnews.com/article/flor...
apnews.com/article/flor...
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
What's going on in Florida re: communism and education is wild, they're really bringing back McCarthyism (with the added bonus of not being able to talk about McCarthyism)
Gift link because people should be able to read about this.
Watching it live was really difficult.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/13/f...
Watching it live was really difficult.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/13/f...
Florida OKs ‘evils of communism’ standards, signs Heritage Foundation pledge
Some criticized both documents, calling them propaganda and indoctrination, but state leaders said they would help teach patriotism and create better American citizens.
www.orlandosentinel.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:46 PM
What's going on in Florida re: communism and education is wild, they're really bringing back McCarthyism (with the added bonus of not being able to talk about McCarthyism)
Gift link because people should be able to read about this.
Watching it live was really difficult.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/13/f...
Watching it live was really difficult.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/13/f...
Florida OKs ‘evils of communism’ standards, signs Heritage Foundation pledge
Some criticized both documents, calling them propaganda and indoctrination, but state leaders said they would help teach patriotism and create better American citizens.
www.orlandosentinel.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Gift link because people should be able to read about this.
Watching it live was really difficult.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/13/f...
Watching it live was really difficult.
www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/13/f...
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
NEW: Florida education leaders on Thursday approved a set of principles that would teach a conservative-backed vision of the United States.
Florida adopts Heritage Foundation’s ‘Phoenix Declaration’ for public schools
The declaration is a statement of principles described as fostering “a love of country,” teaching children to “seek the good, true and beautiful” and aiming for students to “achieve their full, God-gi...
www.miamiherald.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:42 PM
NEW: Florida education leaders on Thursday approved a set of principles that would teach a conservative-backed vision of the United States.
Reposted by Florida Freedom to Read Project
Florida has new academic standards for teaching the History of Communism. It also adopted the Heritage Foundation's position paper on the "guiding principles" for education.
www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
Florida adopts new standards for teaching ‘evils of communism’
The State Board of Education also adopted a statement of priorities authored by the Heritage Foundation.
www.tampabay.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Florida has new academic standards for teaching the History of Communism. It also adopted the Heritage Foundation's position paper on the "guiding principles" for education.
www.tampabay.com/news/educati...
www.tampabay.com/news/educati...