In a surprising twist, a Florida school district recently targeted dictionaries as potential violators of the state's stringent new content regulations. Escambia County schools have placed Merriam-Webster's and other dictionaries under scrutiny, alongside encyclopedias and reference books, as part of an examination of over 1,600 books for material that might conflict with 2023's HB 1069's prohibitions on "sexual" content, according to The Washington Post.
The probe into these scholarly staples is a reaction to the more broadly-written state law meant to regulate exposure to certain topics within educational settings. Despite the chilling effect on academic resources, dictionaries were removed to ensure they did not to run afoul of the law, which their inclusion surely highlights. CBS News reported that the Escambia School District has begun the process of reviewing these titles to comply with the legislation that also bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in 8th grade and below.
The effect of the blanket ban extends beyond just reading material; some local school libraries initiated the school year by shrouding bookshelves with black paper or temporarily shutting down to shield students from what could be construed as "potentially objectionable or illegal content." The Spokesperson for the district assured CBS News that the books “have not been banned or removed," explaining that they were simply pulled for closer review.
The inclusion of such basic academic tools as dictionaries in the mix of potentially harmful literature has raised eyebrows and drawn criticism from organizations like PEN America and the publishing industry at large. "What we’re seeing with these laws being leveraged is a direct threat to the First Amendment rights of students," said Kasey Meehan, program director of PEN America's Freedom to Read program, in a comment to CBS News. Greg Barlow, president of Merriam-Webster, told The Washington Post, "We absolutely believe that everyone should have access to them."
While this story continues to unfold, the school district maintains that it is dedicated to following the law, echoing comments made by Governor Ron DeSantis praising the legislation as an expansion of "parental rights in education." Yet as the debate heats up, with PEN America along with others filing a lawsuit that a judge has allowed to proceed, the future of educational resources in Florida hangs uncertainly, with the balance between legislative compliance and educational freedom yet to settle.
