Free expression advocacy group PEN America launched a lawsuit alongside publisher Penguin Random House and parents in the US state of Florida to sue a local school district for restricting books based on state laws, the organization said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th May, 2023) Free expression advocacy group PEN America launched a lawsuit alongside publisher Penguin Random House and parents in the US state of Florida to sue a local school district for restricting books based on state laws, the organization said on Wednesday.
"Free expression organization PEN America, alongside publisher Penguin Random House, authors, and parents of children affected by the unconstitutional book bans carried out by Florida's Escambia County School District and School board, filed suit today in Federal court asking for books to be returned to school library shelves where they belong," Pen America said in a statement.
The school district has restricted access to certain books that could be challenged under Florida laws banning the distribution of material "harmful to minors" and guaranteeing parental rights in education, according to the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
The books targeted by the school district do not meet the harmful material standard, the filing said. Moreover, library materials are not subject to restrictions defined in the state's Parental Rights in Education Act, colloquially known among critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, the filing said.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and information, as well as violations of their Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law.
The lawsuit requests the court to require the school district to restore already removed books to libraries and restrain it from removing targeted books.
"The freedom to read is guaranteed by the constitution," PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in the statement. "In a nation built on free speech, this cannot stand. The law demands that the Escambia County School District put removed or restricted books back on library shelves where they belong."
Children must not be taught that books are dangerous, Nossel said, adding that "state censors" are taking books off shelves in an effort to suppress diverse voices.
