In Hillsborough County, Florida, school officials recently removed the memoir Trans Mission by transgender YouTuber Alex Bertie from library shelves—not through the district’s own review process, but in direct response to pressure from the state Department of Education.

This decision bypassed the very procedures that were created to ensure fair, thoughtful, and community-based evaluations of school library materials. It ignored parental and community input and sent a chilling message to students—especially LGBTQ+ youth—that their identities and stories can be erased to satisfy political demands.

Parents, business owners, and former students spoke out at a recent school board meeting, calling out the superintendent’s capitulation to state overreach. One resident said it plainly: “This isn’t about protecting children—it’s about protecting bigotry.” Another asked why the public review process was ignored entirely. These voices deserve to be heard.

This isn’t just about one book. It’s about whether Hillsborough families will have a voice in what their children read—or whether Tallahassee politicians will dictate policies from afar. It’s about whether we will allow fear and censorship to replace trust in our educators, librarians, and local school communities.

We, the undersigned, call on Superintendent Van Ayres and the Hillsborough County School Board to:

• Reverse the removal of Trans Mission and any other titles pulled outside of the district’s established review process
• Commit to upholding the county’s book review protocol moving forward, without exception
• Publicly affirm the importance of local control in decisions about school library materials

Our students deserve access to a wide range of perspectives and stories—including those that reflect their own lives. Our parents and educators deserve respect for their roles in shaping an inclusive, well-informed school environment. And our community deserves leadership that answers to its people, not political pressure.