A school district in southwest Florida recently made headlines for turning down a donation of dictionaries because it had put a moratorium on purchasing new books for its classrooms and libraries. Officials are navigating a new state law that provides parents more authority over the choice of reading and instructional materials in schools, thus the freeze is momentarily in effect.
After being adopted by state lawmakers for several months, HB 1467 became operative at the beginning of July. It alters the selection criteria for reading materials used in schools and limits the number of terms that school board members may serve. While Democratic opponents have criticized it as censorship and unlawful, Republican governor Ron DeSantis has described it as a component of his campaign to combat “indoctrination” in schools.
For school districts, the shifting guidelines are providing a logistical difficulty since many have already started the new school year and are rushing to determine compliance and new best practices. In Sarasota, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune writes that hundreds of dictionaries are collecting dust as a result of district officials rejecting a contribution from the Venice Rotary Club.
In collaboration with a non-profit organization called the Dictionary Project, the club has given more than 4,000 dictionaries to Sarasota primary schools for over 15 years running, according to club member Gar Reese, who spoke to the newspaper. They were rejected for the first time this year.
Reese claimed that when the new law went into effect, the club’s president checked with the principals of the schools to ensure that there wouldn’t be any problems with the donations. After getting no response, the president was directed to the district, which said it would have to wait until January.
That’s at least in part because the district doesn’t currently have any certified education media specialists working in its schools, despite the fact that the legislation mandates that all reading material in schools — regardless of whether it is purchased or donated — be “chosen” by one.
The district’s media specialist job description has already been approved by the school board, according to Kelsey Whealy, a media relations specialist for Sarasota County Schools, who informed NPR via email that the temporary hiring freeze will extend at least until January 2023.
The Florida Department of Education and the district’s curriculum team will provide updated guidance on how to interpret the law, she added, adding that the district is “hopeful” that there will be enough time to hire the new media specialists, review the current materials, and receive those updates.
Reese also informed the newspaper that the club would contact private schools or forgo donations this year entirely if the district refused to accept the club’s dictionaries. While the halted dictionary contribution may have brought the district to national attention, it’s only one of the challenges the new law presents.
Whealy reported that district officials had given the go-ahead for book fairs, Scholastic Book Orders, and read-aloud to go this autumn as planned, subject to a few restrictions. Teachers have been instructed to share with administrators and parents the books they want to read aloud to younger pupils. Parents must review Scholastic orders in advance and students must bring them home.
She clarified that the district’s goal is to uphold the new regulation while offering teachers the most support possible. We will update our education and community partners once we have advice from our legal team and direction from the FDOE, according to Whealy. “We appreciate their help and don’t want to damage the good connections we already have.”
