Hillsborough School Board Says 'This Book Is Gay' Not Suitable For Middle School Children

TAMPA, FL — Overruling the decision of two review committees, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to remove the book, "This Book is Gay," from the middle school media centers, after parents filed a challenge to the book being available at the Pierce Middle School library.

The board's decision came on Tuesday after listening to more than 50 people give public comment on both sides of the issue.

It's an issue that's remained unsettled since September when two parents, neither of whom have students who attend Pierce Middle School, raised a challenge against the nonfiction book by New York Times-bestselling author Juno Dawson, who has written several books geared to helping LGBTQ youth understand their sexuality.

Tuesday's special called school board meeting came after one of the parents challenged the rulings of both the Pierce Middle School Educational Media Materials Committee and the District Level Reconsideration Appeals Committee, which voted in favor of keeping the book in the Pierce Media Center.

According to Superintendent Addison Davis, there's one copy of the book available at Pierce Middle School and another at Tampa Bay Technical High School. Those two copies are currently checked out. A third copy owned by the school district is missing.

Because the special called meeting on the book challenge is part of a legal process, School Board Attorney Jim Porter said the board could only address the removal of the book from Pierce Middle School, although Davis recommended removing the book from all Hillsborough County middle schools.

In the end, however, the board voted 4-3 for the removal of the book from all middle schools in the district. Board members Nadia Combs, Jessica Vaughn and Karen Perez opposed the measure because, noting Porter's caution that the challenge only applied to Pierce Middle School.

Related: Objection To Library Book To Be Decided By Hillsborough School Board

The Parental Rights in Education bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2022 gives parents the right to challenge whether a book in a school media center or instructional materials in the classroom are appropriate. The measure allows parents to review a school district's instructional materials and library books, and file objections if they believe the subject matter violates state standards.

Once a challenge is filed, the book is reviewed by a committee within the school. If the person challenges that committee's decision, the issue goes before a districtwide review committee. If the challenger is still not satisfied with the ruling, the issue goes before the school board for a final ruling, as it did Tuesday.

T0 date, according to Davis, only two challenges have been filed against books in Hillsborough County School libraries.

Despite claims by speakers that the book is pornographic and, therefore, illegal, members of the school board said the book doesn't meet the legal definition of pornography.

In fact, they said they wouldn't object to having the book available in high school media centers because the book provides much-needed guidance to LGBTQ students, a population that's four times more likely to commit suicide than their "straight" classmates.

"It's very clear by the legal definition, this is not pornography," said school board chairwoman Nadia Combs. "But is it age appropriate? I was a middle school teacher for many, many years, and everything I saw said the book is recommended for 14 and up. That's why it's only in one middle school. I do believe the intent of the author was to have this as a high school book. This is not appropriate for a sixth-grader."

School board member Jessica Vaughn agreed, noting the book even addresses abstinence and warns readers against certain behaviors such as looking for partners on the gay dating app, Grindr.

"I think the whole point of it (the book) is to provide an enhancement to sex education for LGBTQ students so they stay safe," she said. "The person who challenged the book even said it was appropriate for high school."

Combs said her fear is that parents will use the new state law to push their political agendas or religious philosophies on all students in the school system.

"I want to make sure parents across the district aren't making decisions for my child. I don't want one side to tell me how to raise my children," she said.

Nevertheless, school board member Lynn Gray, also a former middle school teacher, said the books in school media centers should have educational value. And while the parents crowded into the boardroom Tuesday are obviously involved in their children's lives and are aware of what their children are reading, that's not true of every family.

"We'd like to think parents have the ultimate influence, but the reality is this is not the case in many homes" she said. "Our responsibility is to do the best we can to protect children from materials that are not suitable."

Board member Stacy Hahn said the purpose of a school library is to "curate a collection of materials that will help our children grow."

She said the book, "This Book is Gay," is too sexually explicit and wouldn't be allowed in the classroom, therefore, it shouldn't be allowed in the school library.

"There are plenty of books that are a resource for children struggling with their sexuality without resorting to sexually explicit content," she said. "I can't believe there aren't other books that can provide resources to LGBTQ students."

Two students from Leto High School speaking at Tuesday's meeting noted, however, that no one is being forced to read "This Book is Gay." It's simply an inclusive resource for LGBTQ students who need it.

Vaughn wondered why the school district hasn't implemented a process for media specialists to call parents for permission for a student to check out a book with sensitive content.

Davis said that's an idea that the school board can explore when it hosts a school board workshop April 25 to better define the process for choosing reading materials for media centers and for handling challenges.