According to a free speech group, Florida has more book challenges and removals than any other state.
A Florida school board is seeking a 7-year-old student’s testimony in an attempt to halt a federal lawsuit regarding its decision to ban books.
The lawsuit was filed by book publisher Penguin Random House, book authors, national free speech group PEN America, and parents of students who were denied access to the school library. They claim that a young child would find the deposition unnecessarily tricky.
The students in the suit range from high schoolers to elementary schools. Ann Novaskowksi, the mother of 7-year-old J.N., joined the lawsuit on behalf of her daughter. According to An, she joined the lawsuit because she wanted her child to have access to these books and others like them. She is confronted with varied opinions and experiences and, thus, better prepared to engage with a wide range of people.
In addition to asserting that its own members cannot its members cannot be removed from office, the Escambia Country School states that it “has the right to explore the claims and defenses in the case directly with students.”
A deposition is an out-of-court statement provided for a lawsuit by a witness under oath, usually at an attorney’s office. In emails discovered in court documents, the defendant’s lawyers warned those suing that “what a parent thinks their child wants to read and is interested in what the child actually wants to read and is interested in may be different.”
According to the documents, the parties have consented to limited depositions of the older students under parental supervision; nonetheless, the plaintiffs limit their demands to elementary-age children.
They stated in a court motion last week that “It would require young J.N to devote time away from family and friends to prepare for her testimony and to face questioning by the opposing counsel in deposition, an experience that is enormously stressful and difficult for adults, let alone a seven-year-old.”
The lawsuit claims that the removal of multiple books, including the children’s picture book And Tango Makes Three, which tells the story of a same-sex penguin couple raising a chick together, has negatively impacted J.N. and other students like her.
It coincides with a conversation about the “book ban” that has swept the country. Advocacy groups have found that Florida has more book removal and challenges than any other state, making it a focal point.
Escambia, the westernmost country in Florida, is one of the epicenters of controversy. Two federal lawsuits have been filed against it, with country officials claiming they can remove any book from the school library for any reason. These lawsuits might have a significant national First Amendment precedent.
