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 Title | Author | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian* | Sherman Alexie | Discontinued |
| Thirteen Reasons Why* | Jay Asher | Discontinued |
| Life Is Funny* | ER Frank | Discontinued |
| Looking for Alaska* | John Green | Discontinued |
| Dead Until Dark | Charlaine Harris | Discontinued |
| Burned* | Ellen Hopkins | Discontinued |
| Crank* | Ellen Hopkins | Discontinued |
| Fallout* | Ellen Hopkins | Discontinued |
| Glass | Ellen Hopkins | Discontinued |
| Identical* | Ellen Hopkins | Discontinued |
| Impulse* | Ellen Hopkins | Discontinued |
| Smoke | Ellen Hopkins | Discontinued |
| Almost Perfect* | Brian Katcher | Discontinued |
| Fly on the Wall | E. Lockheart | Discontinued |
| Boy Toy* | Barry Lyga | Discontinued |
| A Court of Mist and Fury* | Sarah J. Maas | Discontinued |
| A Court of Frost and Starlight* | Sarah J. Maas | Discontinued |
| Crown of Midnight | Sarah J. Maas | Discontinued |
| Heir of Fire | Sarah J. Maas | Discontinued |
| Queen of Shadows | Sarah J. Maas | Discontinued |
| Tower of Dawn* | Sarah J. Maas | Discontinued |
| A Court of Wings and Ruin* | Sarah J. Maas | Discontinued |
| House of Earth and Blood* | Sarah J. Maas | Discontinued |
| The Truth About Alice* | Jennifer Mathieu | Discontinued |
| Fade* | Lisa McMann | Discontinued |
| The Female of the Species* | Mindy McGinnis | Discontinued |
| All the Bright Places | Jennifer Niven | Discontinued |
| Nineteen Minutes* | Jodi Picoult | Discontinued |
| 33 Snowfish* | Adam Rapp | Discontinued |
| Living Dead Girl* | Elizabeth Scott | Discontinued |
| A Bad Boy Can Be Good for You | Tanya Stone | Discontinued |
| Ask the Passengers* | A.S. King | Under Review |
| Alt Ed | Catherine Adkins | Under Review |
| Forever* | Judy Blume | Under Review |
| Black Girl Unlimited | Echo Brown | Under Review |
| Killing Mr. Griffin* | Lois Duncun | Under Review |
| Boy Girl Boy | Ronald Koertge | Under Review |
| Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson* | Louise Rennison | Under Review |
| Eleanor and Park* | Rainbow Rowell | Under Review |
| The Hate U Give* | Angie Thomas | Under Review |
| Allegedly* | Tiffany Jackson | Parental Consent |
| Sold* | Patricia McCormick | Parental Consent |
| Deogratias | Alexis Siegel | Parental 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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