Orlando, Florida — On 16-year-old Jack Hayes’ bookshelf, you’ll find books that may no longer be available in some Florida classrooms, like Kurt Vonnegut’s classic “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
Her mother, Judi Hayes, said Florida’s 2023 law restrict certain books in school libraries is harming Jack’s ability to learn.
“We’re not talking about Playboy magazine, you know, we’re talking about Anna Karenina and War and Peace,” Judi Hayes told CBS News.
The Hayeses are part of a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by Penguin Random House, other publishers and some authors who argue the law “violates the First Amendment” and has created “a regime of strict censorship” in schools.
Under the law, any Florida resident can challenge the sexual content of a book in a school or school library in their county. Once challenged, the book “must be removed within 5 school days … and remain unavailable until the challenge is resolved,” the law states.
Among the classics that have been removed because of the law are Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
According to a report released in April by Pen America, a free speech advocacy organization, between July 2021 and December 2023, Florida recorded 3,135 book bans across 11 districts, the highest number of any state in the country during that period.
“It doesn’t protect children when it comes to books like mine,” said author Laurie Halse Anderson, whose book “Speak,” which deals with sexual assault, was also withdrawn.
“Parents can say, ‘No, I don’t want my child to read this,’” Anderson said. “That’s their choice for their child. But they don’t get to decide for other people’s children.”
The lawsuit names the Florida Board of Education as a defendant.
“This is a set-up,” Florida Department of Education spokeswoman Sydney Booker said in a statement to CBS News. “No books are banned in Florida. Sexually explicit content and instruction are not appropriate for schools.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who championed the law, is not named.
“The media is trying to say it’s, quote, banning books, but with what you have in a school, you have to make a judgment about what’s appropriate or not,” DeSantis said.
Jack believes that politics should not play a role in his education.
“If a student wants to read, he should be able to read this book,” he said.
