Education
Florida education officials report hundreds of books pulled from school libraries, including Toni Morrison, Richard Wright and Maya Angelou

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.” “Forever” by Judi Blume. “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut.
According to the newest information, all of them have been withdrawn from the shelves of some Florida schools list developed by the Florida Department of Education and containing books removed by local school districts.
Recent changes in state law have made it possible for fogeys and residents to take this motion challenge books to school libraries and required districts to submit an annual report to the state detailing which books were restricted of their schools. Florida continues to steer the nation in withdrawing books from school libraries, in accordance with an evaluation by the American Library Association and the advocacy group PEN America.
“Restricting access means limiting the freedom to read,” said Kasey Meehan of PEN America. “Students are losing the opportunity to access books that reflect their own life experiences, to access books that help them learn and to empathize with people who… have different life experiences.”
The list, published for the 2023-2024 school yr, includes titles by American literary icons similar to Maya Angelou, Flannery O’Connor and Richard Wright, in addition to books which have turn into top targets for censorship across the country as a consequence of LGBTQ+ characters, discussions about gender and sexuality and descriptions of sexual encounters, e.g. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George Johnson and “Gender Queer” by Maja Kobabe. Supporters of conservatism have described such content as “pornographic.”
The list of books removed from libraries also includes Holocaust accounts similar to “The Diary of Anne Frank: A Graphic Adaptation” and “Sophie’s Choice.” It’s an analogous story with the graphic novel, an adaptation of “1984,” George Orwell’s groundbreaking work on censorship and surveillance.
“Everywhere from Toni Morrison to Alice Walker to Slaughterhouse-Five to George Orwell,” said Stephana Farrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, which tracks book challenges within the state. “If you take the time to look through this list, you will see that there is a problem with… this movement.”

In an announcement to the Associated Press, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Education maintained that no books have been banned in Florida and defended the state’s efforts to remove “sexually explicit material” from schools.
“Once again, far-left activists are promoting the book ban scam to Floridians. “The better question is why these activists continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit material,” spokeswoman Sydney Booker said.
The list shows that the number of book withdrawals varies widely across the state, with some districts reporting no restrictions and others reporting hundreds of titles pulled from shelves. Farrell of the Florida Freedom to Read Project said that based on the group’s evaluation of public records, the department’s report is an undercount since it doesn’t include books removed in consequence of an internal staff review, only those withdrawn in consequence of a grievance filed by a parent or resident.
Farrell believes that almost all Florida parents want their children to have broad access to literature.
“We live in a country where parental rights should be recognized, heard and taken into account,” Farrell said. “We are asking for accountability and an accurate record of the impact of these laws on our children and what is available to them.”
Schools have restricted access to dozens of books by Stephen King, a master of the horror genre known for bestsellers similar to “It” and “Pet Sematary.” Clay County officials also found his book, “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft,” inappropriate for college kids.
King, who spends part of the yr in Florida, talked about attempting to get his books out of students’ hands, urging readers to run to the closest library or bookstore.
“What the hell?” In August, King posted on social media reacting to the choice of some Florida schools to drag his books from shelves.
Multiple school districts in Florida have filed legal challenges for restricting students’ access to books, including Escambia County, which is being sued by PEN America and Random penguin housethe biggest publisher within the country.
Nassau County School District in September settled lawsuit brought by the authors of “And Tango Makes Three,” an image book based on the true story of two male penguins who raised a chick together at New York’s Central Park Zoo. Under the terms of the settlement, the district needed to return three dozen books to the shelves.
Education
Students, teachers and content creators are fighting to maintain a black story alive among Dei attacks

As the month of black history approaches, among the Trump administration, which is stopped by the federal government recognizing the “months of identity” and the fundamental corporations and retail sellers withdrawing their efforts Dei, a lot strives to maintain black history.
School districts in Arkansas, Florida and South Karolina Ma Limited research African American Studies. Meanwhile, according to Education WeekFrom 2021, about 40 other states have introduced bills or took steps to limit the critical theory of breed and discussion about sexism of their curricula.
However, students, teachers, historians and content creators develop into creative in recent months to learn each online and outside.
After the parents nervous in Florida that the curriculum didn’t teach the black history of Florida properly, they began Collecting highschool students on Saturdays on the Culture Center and teaching their additional lessons. Other groups have been able to organize similar lessons in recent times.
“People who are interested in developing the history of the African diaspora cannot rely on schools to do this,” said Tamieka Bradley Hobbs, head of the African research library and culture in Broward County. AP News. “I think that now it is even more clear that there must be a level of independence and self -determination when it comes to conveying the history and heritage of our ancestors.”
This movement was not powered by highschool students who also want to balance and complement their studies. Many adults are also at stake.

At the top of January, the University of Hillmantok appeared online. The virtual university began a case when a professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has published a welcome message to her true introduction to African -American studies at Tiktok. The film, which presented the curriculum at its actual course, received almost 4 million views. A number of days later, after healing 1000’s of interesting comments, she continued the reading list and from there a virtual school was born.
“I was just looking for a way to get involved, but it fired something that is much larger than me,” said Leah Barlow, a professor NBC News.
Shortly after Barlow’s initial movies, other content creators began to add their very own spin and send their very own lessons using the Hillmantok University tag. Many topics have been discussed, from history, to grain, through women’s health to makeup and more. The movies have develop into so visible that some confusion had arose whether the Hillmantok University is real.
Hillmantok receives its name from the famous black classic sitcom “A ince World”, which followed the group of College Coeds at the fictional University of Hbc Hillman.
Barlow said he was occupied with why he thought Hillmantok, the way it had ABC News The trend gave people an “agency, autonomy and property.
“I think that in many ways we think that to do something, we need a permit – and I think it’s not that,” she said. “No, right? We can teach. We can educate. We can activate in a way that goes beyond politics. “

(Tagstranslat) black history
Education
Anipalterate Connecticut College Freshman Capid Hartford Board of Education


Freshman at Connecticut Counts Hartford Board of Education and City of Hartford after receiving a highschool graduation diploma without Possibility of reading or writing.
Aleysha Ortiz, who attends the University of Connecticut, tries to maintain up together with his peers. Born in Puerto Rico, Ortiz moved to the United States on the age of 5. English just isn’t her first language.
“I didn’t know English very well. I didn’t know the rules of schools. There were many things that they would tell me, and I allowed myself what the teachers would tell me because I don’t understand anything, “said the 19-year-old.
As Ortiz has gone to the extent of rankings, he claims that she has not received the relevant information or assessment to assist her succeed. She said that she relied on speech text applications to speak and learn, leaving her underamed and unrecognized.
“I am a very passionate person and I like to learn,” said Ortiz. “People took advantage of me, and now I’m in college and I want to use it because it’s my education.”
In May 2024, before graduation, ORTiz spoke on the City Council meeting, revealing conditions wherein she learned and revealed her illiteracy. Then the officials entered to seek out resources for her.
Testing later revealed that he has dyslexia and fights with phonika, fluidity and understanding of reading.
According to the National Literary Institute, 21% of adults within the USA are functionally illiterate, and 34% of them were born outside the country.
Because Ortiz was born outside the United States, and its first language just isn’t English, its designation needs to be “a student with many language”. The designation is to configure controls and balances to assist students overcome the language barrier.
The technical education and profession system in Connecticut defines a multilingual student as a student “whose dominant language is different than English, and whose proficiency in English is not sufficient to ensure” equal educational possibilities “in a regular school program.” These students require additional support To fully take part in the instructions in English.
ORTIZ experience suggests that she has not received this support. It just isn’t clear whether he’ll proceed higher education, because its lack of basic bases K-12 is a big barrier to success.
(Tagstranslate) Education (T) University of Connecticut (T) Literary
Education
Decatur City will now download tuition fees for K-5 students

Annual tuition: almost $ 8,000.
Decatur City School System, the most effective school systems in Georgia, currently downloads tuition fees for admission to some students. The decision was made on the meeting of the Education Council on February 11.
Representatives of the Decatur Municipal Schools sent a press release to WSB-TV with the intention to make clear the conditions. Students from the district will proceed to receive free admission to local schools. However, students of K-5 who live outside the college district will pay almost USD 8,000 within the annual tuition feature
The school system said tuition fees The rate changes annually based on expenses and revenues.
The school system said: “The opportunity to develop our strategic accelerator of the organization’s effectiveness and perfection, as well as the opportunity to handle more students in our amazing schools.”
The change was proposed to resolve the decline in entries and assistance in compensating budget deficits. According to the proposal presented on the board meeting, about 60 students will generate the obligatory revenues of USD 472,980.
The city of the Decatur school start to start out downloading almost USD 8,000 in annual tuition fees for K-5 students https://t.co/mtr1vt91j
– Robert Winston (@MRJ4836) February 25, 2025
Decatur City is in Dekalb and has about 5,700 students living in town. The taken city is home to the Virtual Institute and 10 K-5 schools.
Applications for applying for tuition spaces will start in April. The district said that in May in May he reported a lottery or selection process.
School officials also said that if obligatory, they plan to activate the waiting list.
Rankings of college systems for Decatur can attract families willing to pay a high price. According to World Population Review, Georgia ranks thirty first within the country for education.
For parents considering moving to get well educational options, they’re waiting for a visit. The five highest rated education states are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia and New Hampshire.
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