Parents and activists returned to the Hillsborough County School Board this week demanding the removal of more books from student library shelves, arguing that several titles contain sexually explicit content inappropriate for children. The renewed pressure comes as the district continues to navigate a tangle of state mandates, federal court rulings, and its own internal review process for challenged materials.
Among those who spoke was Julie Gebhards, a parental rights advocate, who told the board that the Kingdom series of novels should not be available to students, according to Florida's Voice. Gebhards cited Kingdom of the Feared, Kingdom of the Wicked, and Kingdom of the Cursed, saying the books contain sexually explicit passages, and she also referenced the novel IQ84, which she said contains a sexual situation involving an adult and a child. Gebhards challenged the board to act proactively rather than wait for a formal complaint, telling members she was present to protect children.
John Amanchukwu, founder of I Know God, also addressed the board, reading passages aloud from Chuck Palahniuk's novel Survivor, which he said is available at Alonso High School. He questioned why young students would have access to material discussing condoms and raised concerns about a book he said was available at Sulphur Springs School, a K-8 campus. Amanchukwu called the availability of the books a travesty and “god awful,” questioned the educational benefit of the material, and warned that judgment is coming if the materials are not removed.
A Speaker With a National Playbook
Amanchukwu is a familiar face at school board podiums well beyond Tampa. He is also a contributor for Turning Point USA Faith, which sends him to school board meetings across the country, and he has addressed board meetings in at least 18 states, according to TPUSA Faith.
Despite the pointed public comments, the school district did not announce any new decision to remove the specific books discussed during the session. Any formal action would have to move through Hillsborough County Public Schools' established process, which routes challenges through school-level media committees and district reconsideration committees before allowing appeals to reach the board itself, a procedure detailed by Tampa, FL Patch.
A District Already Under State Pressure
This is not the first time Hillsborough has faced this kind of confrontation. Superintendent Van Ayres removed the transgender memoir Trans Mission: My Quest to a Beard, written by transgender YouTuber Alex Bertie, from district high school libraries last August after Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas publicly questioned why the book remained available and warned that Ayres could be called before the State Board of Education. Ayres had initially said the book could still be checked out with parental consent before later deciding to remove it entirely, a sequence of events reported by the Tampa Bay Times. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier had also called for the memoir's removal.
That episode followed an even larger effort. Back in June 2025, Ayres placed more than 600 library book titles under district review, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The board's posture on individual titles has shifted, too. In September 2025, members voted unanimously to remove the graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson and Ellen Hopkins' novel Identical from school libraries, reversing an earlier 5-2 decision that had kept both books on shelves, according to Bay News 9. Both titles had previously survived formal district review challenges before the reversal.
Court Fight Over the State Law Looms
The legal foundation for the state's push has itself come under fire. In August 2025, U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza ruled that key provisions of Florida's House Bill 1069 are unconstitutional under the First Amendment, finding that mandatory rapid book removals based on vague definitions of sexual conduct fail to account for a work's literary value, according to WUSF.
National Data Undercounts, State Data Shows Zero
The scope of Hillsborough's book removals looks very different depending on who is counting. Free-expression group PEN America found that Hillsborough County Public Schools had 608 book titles removed or temporarily restricted during the 2024-2025 school year, ranking second highest among school districts nationwide, per Axios. PEN America's accounting lists six permanently removed titles, roughly 600 pulled for review, and more than 50 additional titles removed immediately.
Florida as a whole led the nation in school-book censorship during that same academic year, with more than 2,000 censorship instances, according to PEN America. Administrative removals and reviews can limit students' access to library materials.
The debate over which books belong on library shelves shows no sign of settling as the district weighs public pressure, its own review procedures, and an unresolved legal challenge to the state law behind much of the controversy.
