As School Year Begins, Book Bans and Curriculum Laws Spark Controversy
Summary from the AllSides News Team
As schools return from summer break, many classrooms are finding themselves in the middle of a culture war waging throughout the nation. As Republican-governed states such as Florida and Texas pass new laws prohibiting select books and topics of discussion from schools, educators are navigating new legal waters with trepidation and uncertainty.
At the forefront of new education restrictions has been Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a predicted contender for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination. National media outlets across the spectrum have extensively covered Florida's “Parental Rights in Education” bill, frequently called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by the left.
In Oklahoma, new education restrictions have already sparked drama, with CNN (Left Bias) reporting on a teacher resigning after allegedly being placed on leave for displaying a QR code linking to prohibited books. CNN and Fox News (Right bias) both covered another story out of Oklahoma concerning the State School Board penalizing two districts for apparent violations of new laws on race and gender teaching. Fox’s headline labeled the bill a ban of "critical race theory."
Media outlets across the spectrum have criticized book bans, but right rated outlets have focused more on violations of laws regarding discussions on gender and race, often deeming these topics pertaining to a “woke agenda.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
The Dangerous Lesson of Book Bans in Public School LibrariesA small group of parents attends a conference where they're educated about the threats to American morality embedded in modern education. There they obtain a list of books believed to present a clear and present danger to young people. They bring that list to a meeting of the local school board. It turns out that 11 of the titles are found in school district libraries or curricula.
Alarmed, school board members direct the superintendent to remove the books and to put out a press statement declaring the tomes "anti-American, anti-Christian,...
From the Center
Americans Don’t Want Books Banned, But They’re Divided Over What Schools TeachRecently, an image that listed books banned in Florida libraries and schools began making the rounds on Twitter. The 25 titles, spanning classics from “To Kill a Mockingbird” to “A Wrinkle in Time,” caught the eyes of many, including Randi Weingarten, who is president of the American Federation of Teachers, a major teacher’s labor union in the U.S.
Only one problem: The list was fake. There is no banned-book list at the state level in Florida.
This isn’t to say that books haven’t been banned in Florida public schools. Earlier...
From the Left
Back to School in DeSantis’s Florida, as Teachers Look Over Their ShouldersErin Brown, a teacher in St. Johns County, Fla., typically keeps a gay pride flag hanging up in her classroom. As the faculty sponsor of a Gay-Straight Alliance club at her high school, she wants her students to know they are safe with her.
But this year, Ms. Brown found herself quietly repurposing the flag.
No longer on full display, it now hangs as a “rainbow background,” partially obscured among posters, photos, a calendar and other trinkets on her class bulletin board.
The change is emblematic of the fear, uncertainty...
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