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Florida Orders 90-Day Audit of School Libraries

The education commissioner said districts must proactively remove sexually explicit or age‑inappropriate material or face possible state funding cuts.

Overview

  • Commissioner Henry Mack issued a seven-page memo that lays out a 90-day plan requiring superintendents and charter leaders to audit library and classroom collections and speed reviews of flagged titles.
  • The plan directs districts to inventory classroom libraries, vet donations and book‑fair items, prioritize titles previously removed elsewhere in Florida, and complete full-text reviews within 30 days.
  • The memo requires districts to cross-check their holdings against a state list of titles removed or discontinued elsewhere and to involve media specialists, curriculum staff, administrators and legal counsel in reviews.
  • Mack warned that districts who fail to comply could face state corrective measures including investigations and the withholding of state funds, grants or Florida Lottery money.
  • Civil‑liberties groups called the guidance censorial and said using one district's removals as a trigger for statewide reviews risks de facto bans while the DOE said inclusion on its list does not itself prohibit a title and staff will propose stronger rules.