In a landmark decision today, US District Judge Kent Wetherell ruled that the groundbreaking federal lawsuit against the Escambia County School Board for the improper removal of books from library shelves can proceed.

Judge allows groundbreaking First Amendment lawsuit to proceed

This case, brought forth by PEN America, Penguin Random House, various banned authors, and concerned parents, challenges the School Board’s actions under the First Amendment. Judge Wetherell found that the plaintiffs have the necessary standing to pursue their claims.

Read: Florida school board: toss Penguin Random House book ban lawsuit

Katie Blankenship, director of PEN America’s Florida office, responded, “Today, we urged the court to vindicate the Constitutional rights of students, parents, authors, and publishers. We are heartened that Judge Wetherell agreed and that our case can proceed.”

“These books need to be returned to the shelves where they belong, and every day that students are refused access is a day they’re not getting the high-quality education they deserve,” she added.

Lynn Oberlander of Ballard Spahr, representing the plaintiffs, added, “We are gratified that the Judge recognized that books cannot be removed from school library shelves simply because of the views they espouse, and are looking forward to moving forward with this case to protect the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs.”

Read: Florida school district pulls 700 books, impacting Jewish works

Shalini Goel Agarwal, Protect Democracy counsel, highlighted the targeting of books centring on people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals, criticising the government’s stance that the First Amendment does not apply to school libraries. “Today’s ruling makes clear that they are wrong,” Agarwal stated.

Judge Wetherell emphasised that the government speech doctrine does not apply in this scenario, reinforcing that First Amendment protections are implicated when officials remove books based on ideology or viewpoint. While a claim under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause was denied, the First Amendment claims are robust enough for the case to proceed.

The controversy revolves around a diverse range of books, from classics like “The Bluest Eye,” “Slaughterhouse-Five,” and “The Kite Runner” to various children’s and young adult titles. The authors involved in the lawsuit, who have experienced either removal or restriction of their books in the district, include Sarah Brannen, David Levithan, George M. Johnson, Ashley Hope Pérez, and Kyle Lukoff.

Following the lawsuit filing last spring, the Escambia County district has removed additional books in response to new state laws, such as HB 1069. PEN America recently released a list of over 1,600 titles banned pending investigation in Escambia County, a list initially acquired by the Florida Freedom to Read Project and including five dictionaries.

Read: Dictionaries among books removed from Florida school district

PEN America has been actively documenting and opposing the surge in school book bans across the nation. Their findings indicate that Black and LGBTQ authors and books addressing race, racism, and LGBTQ identities are disproportionately targeted.

According to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans, there have been 5,894 instances of book bans across 41 states and 247 public school districts from July 2021 to June 2023, a trend reminiscent of the McCarthyism era.