Published on November 14, 2024 at 10:04 am
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A federal judge has approved a settlement that led to Nassau County school officials returning three dozen schoolbooks to libraries after they were removed last year.
The settlement came in a lawsuit filed in May by authors of the children’s book And Tango Makes Three and parents of students amid widespread controversy about removing books from school libraries in Florida and other states.
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Two federal lawsuits are pending, for example, about the Escambia County School Board’s removal of books; another federal lawsuit challenges Orange County School Board members’ removal of books.
The book And Tango Makes Three, which tells the story of two male penguins who raise a penguin chick in New York’s Central Park Zoo, has played a prominent role in the debate over book removals. Lawsuits allege the book has been targeted for removal because it depicts same-sex parents raising a child.
In the Nassau County case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Monte Richardson last week agreed to a request to dismiss the case after the September settlement was reached.
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Nassau County officials said they removed And Tango Makes Three and two other books last year because of a lack of circulation, according to the settlement. District officials said they removed 33 other books because of alleged “obscene” material that would violate state law.
But the lawsuit contended And Tango Makes Three was removed because of anti-LGBTQ bias, and the settlement includes a statement that district officials “agree that And Tango Makes Three contains no ‘obscene’ material in violation of the obscenity statute, is appropriate for students of all ages, and has pedagogical value.”
The settlement lists 22 other books that are slated to be returned to libraries by Friday. Examples include The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel. Also, the settlement calls for the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, to be made available to students in grades 9 through 12.
In addition, 12 books will be made available to students ages 18 or older or who have parental consent. Examples are Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
Under the settlement, the district will form a review committee to consider the 12 books. The “negotiated settlement is fundamentally fair, adequate, and reasonable, considering the allegations, the extent of the minors’ injuries, and the procedural posture of the case,” Richardson wrote in last week’s ruling.
