Three Florida parents file lawsuit over book ban policies

Three Florida mothers are suing Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) administration over its controversial book-banning policies after one of the trio wasn't allowed to defend a book that was removed from the shelves in their school district.  

Nancy Tray, Anne Watts Tressler and Stephana Ferrell are challenging the Florida law that made it easier for parents who took issues with certain books in classrooms to get the titles removed. They contend their First Amendment rights are violated through the law because parents who oppose a book removal allegedly do not have proper recourse to fight for the title.  

“The plaintiffs, parents of students in Florida public schools, are seeking review of their local school boards’ decisions to remove or restrict books in their children’s school districts and do not have access to seek that review,” Democracy Foward, one of the groups representing the parents, said in a statement.  

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida with Democracy Forward, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Southern Poverty Law Center representing the three plaintiffs.  

The lawsuit details how Ferrell wanted to challenge the removal of a book titled “Shut Up!” by Marilyn Reynolds from her district.  

School officials said the appeal process was only for parents looking to remove books from the shelves and she did not have a proper basis for her challenge, according to the lawsuit.

When Ferrell took it to the state level, her challenge was again shot down.  

“A special magistrate is not available to contest a district’s decision to remove material or for the purpose of providing clarification on the law. As such, your request has been dismissed,” officials from the state Department of Education told Ferrell.  

The lawsuit argues her request for a review was denied because she did not hold the same opinion as the state.  

“The State of Florida should not be able to discriminate against the voices of parents they disagree with — I deserve an equal voice in my child’s education as any other parent,” Ferrell said.  

The Florida Department of Education would not comment directly on the lawsuit but said, “There are no books banned in Florida. However, sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for classrooms.”