Florida vs. Major Publishers: The Lawsuit That Could Set a National Precedent

By Chloe Smith

An ongoing lawsuit by book publishers against the State of Florida is shaping up to be one of the most significant cases in the fight for the freedom to read. Yet, it’s just a part of a hefty handful of legal battles currently challenging book bans across the nation. So, what’s the big deal with this one?

For starters, it’s taking on what many see as the book-banning capital of the United States. 

Florida Leads the Charge

From July 2021 to the end of 2023 alone, Florida reported the country’s highest number of book bans, with 3,135 bans across 11 school districts. This data comes from PEN America, a leading nonprofit that advocates for free expression and tracks book bans throughout the U.S. 

“Florida really is this environment that I would say encourages censorship,” said Sophia Brown, Program Coordinator at PEN America Florida. “Encourages, you know, let’s remove the books now and ask questions later, maybe months and months down the line.”

Since Florida has practically become the nation’s epicenter of censorship, it sets a precedent that’s being echoed more and more throughout other states, raising concerns mainly due to H.B. 1069 — a state law passed last year allowing parents and local residents the ability to challenge any school library book that “depicts or describes sexual conduct.”

H.B. 1069: Steering the Debate 

Under this law, any book objected to is immediately pulled off school library shelves, with investigations often lasting several months before a resolution is finally reached.

Elliot Mincberg, Senior Counsel at People for the American Way Foundation, a progressive nonprofit that advocates for civil rights and social justice, asserts that such restrictions are wrong.

“The Florida law essentially makes books guilty until proven innocent once a complaint is filed,” Mincberg said. “It should be the other way around. Books should be innocent until proven improper, and that’s not what the Florida law does.”

That’s why the outcome of this publishers’ lawsuit is so critical — combine the gravity of H.B. 1069 with the suit’s wide-ranging implications for school libraries, and you’ve got a possibility for nationwide effect.

“We do see potential for bad faith actors to take something like 1069 and adopt it to their state to allow for book bans to continue to happen and to continue to happen easier,” Brown said.

The Dispute and the Defense 

While multiple lawsuits challenging book bans are currently underway in Florida, this one, in particular, has garnered massive attention because it involves the coalition of six of the nation’s largest book publishers, including Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, as well as best-selling authors, parents, and students. 

The lawsuit, filed in late August against Florida and two state county school boards, explicitly challenges two parts of section 1006.28: one that bans school library books containing content that “describes sexual conduct,” and the other that bans books containing “so-called ‘pornographic’ content.”

The plaintiffs argue these restrictions are vague and broad, prompting the unconstitutional removal of hundreds of titles from school libraries.

“First and foremost, it is a lawsuit that vigorously seeks to defend First Amendment rights of minor students to find and access the information they need in school libraries,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation.

Florida officials described the lawsuit as a “stunt” in an email to the Tampa Bay Times.

“There are no banned books in Florida,” wrote Florida Department of Education spokesperson Sydney Booker. “Sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for schools.”

Beyond involving major publishers and challenging Florida, this lawsuit stands out because it targets Escambia County Public Schools – the district with the highest number of book bans in the entire country.

According to recent data from PEN America, the county accounts for over half of Florida’s total book bans, with more than 1,600 books making the Escambia banned books list by the end of 2023. 

“Escambia County, in particular, has been abysmal,” Brown said. “Escambia County has even banned the dictionary at this point because it includes definitions for words like ‘sex,’ you know, so therefore it is vulgar.”

The district has banned eight different encyclopedias, five dictionaries and removed renowned works, such as Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. 

“It just plants such an awful seed for our youth, our Floridian communities,” Brown said. “To have that message that their stories are not wanted here.”

Organized efforts from interest groups, elected officials, or legislation drive many book-ban cases. Among the most influential is Moms for Liberty, an American political organization advocating parental involvement and rights in school policies. According to PEN America, the group is connected to 58% of all advocacy-led book bans throughout the country. 

When contacted, Moms for Liberty declined to comment on the lawsuit.

What Success Could Mean 

Given the magnitude of this legal challenge, the result could very well swing Florida’s school library policies and potentially the nation’s if other states decide to follow suit. 

Aaron Terr, the Director of Public Advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), notes how if the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, this case, and others like it, could force states and schools to respect limits on their ability to restrict access to information and ideas. 

“[Cases like this] could lead to fewer vague and sweeping restrictions on library content, more local control, and more focus on individualized evaluation of books’ value and suitability for different grade levels,” Terr said. “They could also lead to improved book challenge procedures that avoid politicized outcomes and preserve school libraries as a place where students can freely explore different ideas and perspectives outside the classroom.”

Educators point out how a victory for the plaintiffs would also help alleviate the pressure so many schools face as administrators struggle to balance book challenges alongside their many other responsibilities. Above all, there is hope that the lawsuit’s outcome will prove there is no legal standing for such censorship. 

“What fighting book bans ultimately aims to address is the Florida we see for our future— the Florida we hope for— is diverse, it is well-read, it is welcoming, it embraces public education, it embraces the freedom to read,” Brown said.

For more on the lawsuit, visit https://www.infodocket.com/2024/08/29/report-major-publishers-sue-florida-over-unconstitutional-book-ban-law/.