FLEMING ISLAND – School Board member Michele Hanson argued for the school district to use its own policies and standards to identify questionable books instead of relying on outside organizations like the American Library Association.

Hanson told the rest of the Board during its meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5, that she objects to other groups deciding what books the district’s students can read.

“I would much rather we develop our own policies to run by. We should object to an association that only defends sexually explicit materials,” she said.

Hanson said it could be time for the county to cut ties with the organization.

“If the people of Clay County want something different, and our community standards are different, then maybe it’s time for us to lead by example and not stay with the American Library Association,” she said. 

Hanson was already “very proud” of recent decisions that removed challenged books.

“As an English teacher, they were some of the most disgusting books I have ever read, and we took them off. If you go to the American Library Association’s webpage, they celebrate those books and encourage students to read them,” she said. 

“We’re not banning books. We’re curating them to keep our libraries where they need to be, and I’m advocating for curating because I’m a teacher,” she said.

During the summer, a four-person panel reviewed 45 challenges made by Middleburg’s Bruce Friedman. The panel reviewed the challenge passages and compared them to the Chapter 847 guidelines passed by the Florida Legislature that was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. The group determined that 22 books should be removed and limited to elementary, junior and senior high students.

Board member Beth Clark affirmed the district’s ability to opt out of its agreement with the ALA. That comment was followed by applause from the audience.

“I spoke to (Chief Academic Officer) Roger Dailey today, and we do not have to be part of the American Library Association if we choose not to,” she said.

Superintendent David Broskie dissented, saying that prudence and further research should be required before making such a decision. “I want to see where it’s written in the policy and what we currently have,” he said. 

Erin Skipper defended the Board, saying that the books removed didn’t meet the guidelines set by the statute. She also said there’s a difference between a challenge and removal lists, which some residents didn’t understand.

“A challenge list is different than a removal list, so let’s understand that. I know several speakers keep coming in week in and week out and say the complete opposite,” she said.

The Board will continue to discuss potential solutions during its next workshop meeting on Oct. 24 at 9 a.m. at Fleming Island High’s Multi-Purpose Center.