Florida education chief orders districts to tighten removal of age-inappropriate books
State education commissioner Henry Mack told Florida school districts to improve how they pull explicit titles from libraries, warning of funding penalties.
Henry Mack, Florida's education commissioner, issued a directive demanding that school districts and charter schools adopt a more effective system for removing books deemed unsuitable for students. The memo condemned the existing model, which depends on parents discovering and reporting explicit material, and pointed to Hillsborough County as a failing example. Mack included excerpts from "Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out," "A Court of Wings and Ruin," and "The Bluest Eye" to illustrate the type of content he considers unacceptable.
He warned that districts not adhering to state law and Board of Education rules could lose state funding and face limits on future library acquisitions. A nine-point plan was provided for districts to conduct reviews within 90 days, and the Department pledged to hold superintendents accountable. Anti-censorship groups noted the move, recalling recent legislative attempts to modify review criteria that did not pass.
