POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Polk County Public Schools is accepting applications for its book review committee. Volunteers will be tasked to read and review school library books that have been challenged.
“All of the censorship that’s being done now is just outrageous,” said Dayl Davis.
Davis worked as a Polk County school counselor for 26 years. She believes students should be taught to think for themselves, and banning books will do more harm than good.
“I don't believe in denying access to books that have been in the library and are relevant to ongoing events just because somebody doesn’t like it or it’s uncomfortable,” Davis said.
There are currently three books being challenged in Polk County Public Schools. Those are “Assassination Classroom,” Vol. 1 & 2 by Yusei Matsui, Ellen Hopkins’ “Identical” and “Living Dead Girl” by Elizabeth Scott.
Book reviewer volunteers will determine whether they should be pulled off library shelves.
Florida law bans schools from having books that depict or describe "sexual conduct" or "is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used."
The president of Polk County Young Republicans, Jonathan DeJesus, is pushing people he knows to volunteer.
“These are books that should be up for discussion because of the content of the material. These aren’t just any type of Dr. Seuss books. These are books that have explicit material that could be detrimental to the education of our children,” said DeJesus.
Book reviewers can only include Polk County Public Schools parents and current Polk teachers, guidance counselors, certified media specialists, and high school students.
Davis believes former educators should be able to participate.
"They are missing out on a resource that is prevalent here in Polk County. We've got a lot of good, retired people that have many years working with students," Davis said.
District leaders stated active teachers would likely be more familiar with the current standards/curriculum. Selected volunteers will serve on book review committees for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year.
Applicants will be randomly selected and notified no later than Feb. 2.
