Overview

• Chief U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor granted summary judgment to the Escambia County School Board, rejecting First Amendment claims over the book’s removal.
• The order holds that authors cannot use a school library to speak and that students lack a constitutional right to have the book included in the collection.
• Winsor said he need not decide the government‑speech question, concluding library selection does not create a public forum and noting students can access the book outside school.
• The decision aligns with reasoning seen in the Fifth Circuit’s Little v. Llano County and stands in tension with an August Middle District of Florida ruling that found a book‑removal law overbroad.
• The plaintiffs may appeal, and a separate case by parents, authors, Penguin Random House and PEN America challenging Escambia’s broader book decisions remains pending.