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Seminole County district pulling these 31 books from school shelves

Books (Pixabay)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Seminole County school district announced that it has discontinued 31 titles in its schools following a report from the Florida Department of Education earlier this year.

That report documents a list of books removed in each Florida county during the 2022-2023 school year.

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According to the FDOE, the list is meant to act as a reference tool so that school districts can better determine which books are suitable for students.

Florida state laws prohibit districts from supplying books with “pornographic” or “inappropriate” content in school libraries or classrooms, though students may still bring their own copies of these titles with them.

On Wednesday, Seminole County told News 6 that the following books were either discontinued, require parental consent or are under further review:

Book TitleAuthorStatus
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian*Sherman AlexieDiscontinued
Thirteen Reasons Why*Jay AsherDiscontinued
Life Is Funny*ER FrankDiscontinued
Looking for Alaska*John GreenDiscontinued
Dead Until DarkCharlaine HarrisDiscontinued
Burned*Ellen HopkinsDiscontinued
Crank*Ellen HopkinsDiscontinued
Fallout*Ellen HopkinsDiscontinued
GlassEllen HopkinsDiscontinued
Identical*Ellen HopkinsDiscontinued
Impulse*Ellen HopkinsDiscontinued
SmokeEllen HopkinsDiscontinued
Almost Perfect*Brian KatcherDiscontinued
Fly on the WallE. LockheartDiscontinued
Boy Toy*Barry LygaDiscontinued
A Court of Mist and Fury*Sarah J. MaasDiscontinued
A Court of Frost and Starlight*Sarah J. MaasDiscontinued
Crown of MidnightSarah J. MaasDiscontinued
Heir of FireSarah J. MaasDiscontinued
Queen of ShadowsSarah J. MaasDiscontinued
Tower of Dawn*Sarah J. MaasDiscontinued
A Court of Wings and Ruin*Sarah J. MaasDiscontinued
House of Earth and Blood*Sarah J. MaasDiscontinued
The Truth About Alice*Jennifer MathieuDiscontinued
Fade*Lisa McMannDiscontinued
The Female of the Species*Mindy McGinnisDiscontinued
All the Bright PlacesJennifer NivenDiscontinued
Nineteen Minutes*Jodi PicoultDiscontinued
33 Snowfish*Adam RappDiscontinued
Living Dead Girl*Elizabeth ScottDiscontinued
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for YouTanya StoneDiscontinued
Ask the Passengers*A.S. KingUnder Review
Alt EdCatherine AdkinsUnder Review
Forever*Judy BlumeUnder Review
Black Girl UnlimitedEcho BrownUnder Review
Killing Mr. Griffin*Lois DuncunUnder Review
Boy Girl BoyRonald KoertgeUnder Review
Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging:
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson*
Louise RennisonUnder Review
Eleanor and Park*Rainbow RowellUnder Review
The Hate U Give*Angie ThomasUnder Review
Allegedly*Tiffany JacksonParental Consent
Sold*Patricia McCormickParental Consent
DeogratiasAlexis SiegelParental Consent

( * These titles are also found on the FDOE list of books discontinued in other Florida school districts )

Books like “Deogratias” and “Sold” were challenged by Seminole County School Board Chairwoman Amy Pennock last year after she said parents voiced concerns about the materials.

District officials provided News 6 with a statement regarding the decision to pull several of these titles.

We are following guidance we received on August 30th, when the Florida Department of Education posted a state list of books that had been discontinued from districts in the State. This posted list is for all districts to use for consideration to review their collections to determine the appropriateness. We have currently reviewed 70% of the books provided by the FDOE list and will work diligently to continue this process.

Katherine Crnkovich, Seminole County Public Schools Communications Officer

The district also explained that the number of books under review, requiring parental consent and being discontinued will fluctuate as district leaders go through the FDOE list.

Parents and community members are able to review the district’s media center collections and each classroom collection online by clicking here.

Likewise, all instructional materials in the district may be reviewed by clicking here.

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