Orlando newspaper publishes spread of 673 books banned in Florida county in 2023

The Orlando Sentinel published a two-page print spread Thursday listing 673 books that have been removed from classrooms in Orange County in 2023 due to fears they violate the state’s new laws banning “sexual conduct” from public schools.

Teachers with any of the 673 books on their classroom shelves have been instructed by the school district to remove them, the newspaper said, also noting that the Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) staff will review the list of rejected books once again, so it’s possible the books will eventually be returned to the classroom. The district began compiling the list over the summer.

The list stems from two Florida laws signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is also running for president. They require media specialists to review books in libraries and classrooms, and to exclude books that include sexually lewd material or pornography. The legislation also aims to give parents greater ability to raise objections to their children’s education.

The books on the list range from well-known classics to popular contemporary novels. The newspaper noted that the list contains books found in teachers’ classrooms, not in school libraries. The newspaper also noted that not all of the books were necessarily part of required instruction, but were available to students if they wanted to read them.

On the list were classics including John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden,” John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” and Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”

Others were part of high school curricula, the newspaper reported, citing teachers. Those included “The Color Purple,” “Catch-22” and “Brave New World.”

The newspaper quoted remarks from Orange County School Board member and former OCPS elementary school teacher Karen Castor Dentel during a discussion of the list at a meeting this month. She said media specialists were operating with “great fear” because of the new laws that hold them responsible for the books that children get to read.

She said said it represents “overt censorship,” which she argued far outweighed the benefits of finding “a book or two that is offensive,” the newspaper reported Castor Dentel saying. “Look at all the chaos that has been created. It’s not worth it.”

“It’s creating this culture of fear within our media specialists and even teachers who just want to have a library in their classrooms, so kids have access,” Castor Dentel said, according to the newspaper.

The Hill reached out to Orlando Sentinel staff members for comment on the spread.