Clay County ranked first in the state in school book removals, recalling nearly 290 books last school year

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. -Clay County in Northeast Florida ranks top in the state for removing the most books last school year.

Clay County, according to a new report from the Florida Department of Education. 287 books from their own libraries.

The district was abolished for the 2022-2023 academic year. 177 school books.

Tara Richardson, a member of the Clay Reading Alliance, is a former educator in the district. He taught the classroom and was a former assistant principal.

He said removing books was harmful.

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“I wish more people had been involved,” Richardson said. “This situation affects teachers’ classroom libraries and school libraries.”

The issue of removing books has been a controversial issue in the state for the last few years.

in Clay County to begin the process of removing a book. Special Substantive Objection Form must be delivered. It must be filled in to prove that there are pornographic elements or elements that are not suitable for a certain class level.

Earlier this year, the district released a new report. library policy After years of debate.

News4JAX spoke with Clay County resident Bruce Freidman about these book removals.

He said he challenged nearly 1,000 books. One of the books he challenged and was removed last school year was: Clash of Kings.

He submitted an 11-page document explaining his reasons for wanting the book removed. This included references to paragraphs he deemed inappropriate, showing things containing “porn, sex, violence, bloody profanity, kink, incest and monstrous references”.

His document said that these things could cause harm to spirits.

He also said that removing inappropriate books would benefit students.

“Keeping P*RN away from children is not only legal, it is something this community demands,” Freidman said. “Our school libraries are still dirty. *My son is not allowed to use the library at his school. Shame on everyone who let things get this bad and provided no oversight. Shame on us too. “As members of the community, we should have realized sooner that our librarians were not trained to the standards of this community.”

He also said, “It’s strange that so many people are trying to advocate giving these books to children. They are written for adults.”

Richardson, who thought that the removed books were intended for adults, said that the removal of these books would harm children.

“It concerns me that books containing a moral and cautionary tale are being removed.”

News4JAX contacted the Clay County School District to see if the removed books would be replaced.

“Our libraries are currently purchasing new books,” said Terri Dennis, Communications/Community Relations Department.

For a 2023-2024 county-by-county breakdown of books removed in Florida, review the documents below.

For a 2022-2023 county-by-county breakdown of books removed in Florida, review the documents below.