Florida school board reverses decision nixing access to children's book about a male penguin couple

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Florida school board reverses decision nixing access to children’s book about a male penguin couple

BY MIKE SCHNEIDER
Updated 7:19 AM EDT, August 8, 2023

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Months after access to a popular children’s book about a male penguin couple hatching a chick was restricted at school libraries because of Florida’s “ Don’t Say Gay law,” a central Florida school district says it has reversed that decision.

The School Board of Lake County and Florida education officials last week asked a federal judge to toss out a First Amendment lawsuit brought by students and the authors of “And Tango Makes Three” in June. Their complaint challenged the restrictions and Florida’s new law prohibiting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.

The lawsuit is moot since age restrictions on “And Tango Makes Three” have been lifted following a Florida Department of Education memo that said the new law only applied to classroom instruction and not school libraries, according to motions filed Friday by Florida education officials and school board members of the district located outside Orlando.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/lgbtq-florida-book-ban-tango-b5e985c99c189f406baa0f1cee8ad7fb