Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) held a press event in Tampa on Wednesday to "set the record straight, debunking the mainstream media, unions and leftist activists’ hoax of empty library bookshelves and political theater pretending that Florida’s schools cannot teach about topics like African American History, including topics like slavery."
The primary reason for the crackdown on inappropriate books stems from making sure no pornographic content is available to Florida students at school.
"Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination," said DeSantis. "In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate."
The books DeSantis was using as examples of inappropriate materials were found in 23 school districts across the state. While he was showcasing the books, local news channels who were broadcasting had to cut away due to the overt sexual nature of the books.
Gov. DeSantis' press conference on the Book Ban Hoax was being live-streamed on social media and carried live by local news. The stream was CUT because the books (found in schools!) were too explicit. Sensitive Content warning on Twitter.
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) March 8, 2023
But liberals insist it's good for kids? pic.twitter.com/Sk1pnzlYEc
During the live-stream, local news stations had to cut their feeds due to the graphic nature of the books found in Florida schools.
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) March 8, 2023
But the left wants these books available for 10 year olds. https://t.co/wA0urBD8OJ
Of the 23 districts that reported removing materials, the most removed were tied at 19 in Duval and St. Johns Counties — not even close to a whole classroom library, DeSantis office said. Of the 175 books removed across the state, 164 (94%) were removed from media centers, and 153 (87%) were identified as pornographic, violent, or inappropriate for their grade level.
Books and courses teaching African-American history not only have not been removed from the curriculum, but it was recently expanded for Florida students.