+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Florida Democrats are trying to use Ron DeSantis' book laws against his own recently published book

Apr 4, 2023, 21:29 IST
Business Insider
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the University of Miami on May 17, 2022 in Miami, Florida.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
  • Florida Democrats are challenging Ron DeSantis' book under his own education laws, per The Daily Beast.
  • They argue that the book could run afoul of his own laws on race and gender concepts in schools.
Advertisement

Florida Democrats are attempting to turn the tables on Gov. Ron DeSantis by requesting his new book be reviewed under laws pushed through by his own party, The Daily Beast reported.

Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell told the outlet she is leading the effort to ask 50 Florida counties whether the governor's book — "The Courage To Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival" — is suitable under laws ushered in by the Florida GOP for school libraries.

Bills like HB1467 mandate that collections be reviewed by specialists charged with ensuring they contain no pornographic or non age-appropriate material.

But it has been criticized as overly sweeping and vague, causing confusion across school districts.

"The Courage To Be Free," released in February, is widely seen as laying the ground for a presidential run by DeSantis, and Florida Democrats believe it touches on topics that his own laws could bar.

Advertisement

Per the Beast, it includes 17 examples of materials that Driskell believes could violate Florida law, including repeated references to "woke" and "gender ideology" — which DeSantis has decried as "divisive."

"The very trap that he set for others is the one that he set for himself," Driskell told the publication.

The book could also fall foul of the law by its summarizing of The New York Times' "1619 Project," as well as through a description of systemic racism, the Beast reported.

DeSantis vocally backed the Florida Board of Education's successful effort to ban Critical Race Theory in state classrooms in 2021.

By way of a comment, DeSantis' spokesperson Bryan Griffin sent Insider a tweeted gif of the lawmaker saying: "This is a stunt."

Advertisement

DeSantis has been a leading actor in the GOP's culture-war activism, grabbing headlines for his ongoing fight with Disney over its opposition to his Parental Rights in Education Act, widely referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" bill for its restrictions on discussion of gender and sexuality in the classroom.

It's unclear how many school districts in Florida currently stock DeSantis' book.

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article