We, the undersigned parents and citizens of Escambia County, respectfully request the Escambia County School Board to return the “banned” books which have been awaiting review since 6/2022 to the shelves of their respective schools. No books are being reviewed at this point, which suggests that everyone involved is waiting for the results of a lawsuit which has not yet been scheduled. In the meantime, schoolchildren are denied access to 219 important and often award-winning titles, including reference books like the dictionary. Several considerations apply:

·       Judge Wetherell noted in the move-to-dismiss hearing that the books were removed in violation of the school board’s own policy, which states that books targeted by a complaint can remain on the shelves while awaiting review unless they contain sexual content that is:                                                                (Supreme Court’s ruling, Miller v. California 1973) 

o   “pornographic,” prurient, or violates contemporary community standards 

o    in a work that, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.  

·       We ask that you follow your own policy and return books to the shelves until a community review committee determines whether any of the remaining books have “prurient” sexual content in a context that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value or violates contemporary community standards.

·       We recognize that Escambia County is composed of many communities, rural, urban, and suburban. This has led to disagreement about the degree to which school children are entitled to the benefits of the First Amendment. With that in mind, the school board has wisely decided that each child’s parents shall decide what his/her/their own children shall be allowed to check out and read. 

·       To that end, each library has designated a section for mature readers, and a parent can designate whether or not his/her/their child shall be allowed access to the designated area.

·       We believe that this ability to opt out of books with mature content is adequate to assure that each parent determines what’s available to his/her/their child. 

·       It is highly inappropriate and unjust for one angry person from a very conservative part of Escambia County to have the power to pull 219 books from the shelves because of her personal or religious opinion about what is good for children at each age level.

PLEASE RETURN THE REMANDED BOOKS TO THE LIBRARY SHELVES IMMEDIATELY, UNLESS OR UNTIL A BROADER COMMUNITY HAS DECIDED THAT THEY ARE NOT APPROPRIATE.