Florida is now claiming school libraries are “government speech.”

A challenge to a monstrously regressive Florida state law that makes it easier for books to be pulled from school libraries is making its way through a federal circuit court in Atlanta. The appeal was brought by a group of publishers, authors, and parents who say their First Amendment rights are being trampled by Florida’s House Bill 1069, which became law in 2023.

Pro-literary and pro-library groups like Authors Against Book Bans and Florida Freedom to Read Project are warning of major, nationwide impacts if the court rules in favor of Florida State.

When House Bill 1069 became law, it required books and other materials to be taken out of school libraries and classrooms if anyone files any objection claiming the material is pornographic, harms minors, or contains descriptions or depictions of sexual conduct. The onus is on schools and libraries to resist this censorious overreach, which takes time and resources, and many have chosen to preemptively remove books rather than face a legal or public challenge. This creates an environment where book banners are empowered to threaten schools, and make it easier than ever to remove books and other materials. It’s a tool that right wing book censors are reaching for repeatedly, with little that under-resourced students, parents, and districts can do to stop them.

The law was swiftly challenged in 2024, and the appeal is currently being decided on in the Eleventh Circuit U.S. District Court based in Atlanta, which oversees district courts in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The legal challenge was brought by the Big Five publishers, Sourcebooks, The Authors Guild, a number of authors, and two parents. These plaintiffs argue that Florida’s law infringes on their First Amendment rights, doesn’t recognize the expertise of teachers and librarians, and allows for the unconstitutional prohibitions of books and other materials.

The state of Florida’s defense of the bill in response to this appeal is chilling. Their lawyers are arguing that since public school libraries and classrooms are government entities, they represent “government speech,” which is exempt from First Amendment protection. They also claim that public school libraries are a “government benefit” which the state is not required to provide.

I often think about the observation that if public libraries didn’t already exist, their invention would be condemned as a socialist plot.

Florida is proposing a dark future, where public libraries are an unnecessary entitlement and schools must be compelled—even more than they already are—to represent a state agenda. This dismal outlook is already finding nationwide traction. Florida’s case has been supported by 21 other states who send in amicus briefs: Arkansas, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

To make matters worse, Florida’s legislature is now considering HB 1119, a bill that expands on HB 1069 to further enable book banners. The bill “requires schools to judge books by isolated passages rather than by the work as a whole,” empowering the censoring tactic of plucking language out of context to make it seem maximally salacious.

If you’re in Florida, contact your local representatives to ask them to oppose this bill. But for the ongoing legal challenge to HB 1069, we’ll all have to wait for a ruling. In the meantime, you can get connected with groups like the Florida Freedom to Read Project and Authors Against Book Bans who have lots of ways to get plugged in and champion the cause of reading and libraries.