Staff Reports
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is making changes to a law about school books after Democrats warned that it would cause problems. The law made it easier for people to challenge books in schools. DeSantis signed a bill that makes the law more specific and blamed liberal activists for using the law in a bad way. He said that it’s wrong for people to object to many books just to make a point.
Most of the books that have been removed from schools in the country are in Florida. A group called PEN America said that it’s not the liberals who are causing the problems. They said that it’s conservative individuals and groups, like Moms For Liberty, who are challenging books.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is rolling back his book ban after atheist activist @TChazStevens used the rules to get the Bible out of schools.
Chaz summarized his work to me: "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."https://t.co/b1E24nPH9e
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) April 16, 2024
Before, anyone could challenge a book as many times as they wanted. The new law says that people who don’t have kids in a school can only challenge one book a month.
DeSantis had a big focus on education when he was running for president. Democratic leader Fentrice Driskell said that he’s trying to distance himself from the law now, but it will be hard because he talked about it a lot when he was campaigning.
DeSantis has also made changes to another law that bans lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation. He is also making it harder for people to use the Capitol for political reasons. A man named Chaz Stevens is happy that DeSantis singled him out as an example of how the law was being abused.
The Democrats in the Florida House had warned DeSantis that there would be problems with the law. They said that the real problem is not Chaz, but the people who are using the law in the wrong way.
