, several authors, and two parents – claimed that Escambia Country School District and School Board had violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments by removing or restricting books from school libraries.
The plaintiffs argue the district disproportionately targeted books"by or about people of color and/or LGBTQ people." Books removed or restricted by Escambia include"The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison,"Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, and"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. The five authors involved in the suit are Sarah Brannen, David Levithan, George M. Johnson and Ashley Hope Pérez, and Kyle Lukoff. All have had books removed from libraries or had student access restricted by the district, PEN America said in a"The disproportionate focus of the removal efforts is not an accident," the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit follows Disney's ongoing dispute with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that began when the company publicly criticized the so-called"Don't Say Gay" bill, which bans discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools.