Pinellas County School Board Meeting Sparks Controversy Over Alleged Violation of Obscenity Laws

EDITORS NOTE :  THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ARTICLE INCLUDES GRAPHIC LANGUAGE NOT INTENDED FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18.  In the interest of full disclosure, many of the contributors to Tidings Media attended the meeting and several spoke on behalf of defending the children.  This article was written by the first hand observation of it's author, a parent and contributor to Tidings Media.  

The Pinellas County School Board meeting held on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, took an unexpected turn as over 20 concerned parents and community activists stepped forward to express their grievances about certain books present in the elementary, middle, and high schools within the district. The parents passionately argued that these books violated Florida obscenity laws, with some of them accusing the literature of containing pedophilia.  Under a new state law, parents were allowed to read passages directly from the pages of the books.  

After the school board declined to clear the room of minors, several speakers admonished parents that the subject matter was inappropriate for minors.  The speakers proceeded to read from books currently located within Pinellas County, Florida elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.  Subject matter ranged from fisting to incestuous rape, including one book featuring a father removing the diaper of his child before engaging in penetration.  Beastiality, pedophilia, and other graphic content was read in explicit detail, silencing board members and skeptics that the content existed at all.  Proof was testified to with citations of specific titles at specific locations, culled from the district's own publicly available and verifiable database.

The meeting can be watched unedited below, with a warning that the material is NOT suitable for minors.  You may want to fast forward to the beginning of public participation which starts at 2:07

Most of the school board members sat stone faced as speaker after speaker pleaded for their intercession.  At least one board member who has been a proponent of policies requiring age appropriate materials was moved to tears as one parent read the story of a 14 year old forcibly raped by her then-boyfriend.  The school board member was later accused by an opposition speaker of faking emotion for social media.  

The emotionally charged meeting highlighted the delicate balance between freedom of expression and the need to maintain age-appropriate and responsible content in educational environments.  Florida has enacted specific legislation regarding the distrbution of material with sexual content to minors, and a process will be revamped by the Fall of 2023 for the district to comply with new review procedures intended at the State level to give parents  a participatory opportunity in resources previously under the sole discretion of district employee Media Specialists.  

The Controversial Allegations

During the public comment section of the meeting, parents read passages from the books they contended were in violation of Florida obscenity laws. They provided a comprehensive list of the titles and pinpointed the elementary, middle, and high schools where these books were available. The parents expressed their concern that such materials were accessible to impressionable young minds, potentially normalizing inappropriate themes and behaviors.

The school board listened passively as each parent presented their case, voicing the belief that the books in question promoted an unhealthy view of relationships and racial degradation and contained content deemed unsuitable for minors. Many parents cited specific sections of the books, arguing that they were graphic, explicit and inappropriate, crossing the boundaries of age-appropriate educational materials.  Counter speakers tried to make the case that the context of the passages had to be viewed within the entirety of the works, but struggled to justify how scenes of date rape, pedophilia, beastiality, incest, and racial humiliation may have a context that could be discernable to children as young as 6 years old.  In the aftermath, online critics have continued to doubt the validity of the claims, even though specific titles, passages and book counts were provided by the district validating that the books were indeed available to elementary, middle and high school students.  The intention of the speakers was to remove plausible deniability from the elected officials who until the meeting were seemingly unaware of the content of the books read.  

Balancing Freedom of Expression and Responsible Curation

While the meeting witnessed impassioned pleas from concerned parents, the Pinellas County School Board faces a complex dilemma. On one hand, there's a need to respect freedom of expression and maintain diverse perspectives in literature, ensuring students receive a comprehensive and well-rounded education. On the other hand, the board must also be vigilant in providing a safe and nurturing learning environment for students, protecting them from harmful or explicit content compliant with Florida obscenity laws.  Predictably, the board took no action, with one board member decrying in a workshop days before that the timing of the issue was potentially troublesome to upcoming elections.  Four of the seven school board seats will be on the 2024 election.  

The Role of Review Committees

In response to these concerns, the Pinellas County School Board may decide to reevaluate their book selection process and the formation of review committees. By incorporating a diverse range of stakeholders, such as educators, parents, and community members, the board can ensure that the books present in school libraries align with educational objectives and meet appropriate standards.  The board has the ability to directly intercede, as several other Florida School Boards have done, but they've demonstrated no intestinal fortitude to involve themselves personally.  The issue has been assigned to unelected media specialists who are not directly responsible to the voters for the content of the literature they purchase for their respective schools.  The superintendent thus far has not directly interceded as would be his authority under Florida obscenity laws.  

Transparency and Parental Involvement

The recent events also highlight the importance of transparent communication between the school board and parents. Engaging parents and encouraging them to be active participants in the decision-making process can lead to a better understanding of the curriculum and book selection. Parental involvement can help bridge the gap between the concerns raised and the school's intentions in providing students with a well-rounded education.  The new Florida laws will require the Pinellas County School Board to put new processes in place to ensure parental involvement and access to a more streamlined appeals process.  It's not enough for parents to be able to "opt out" of inappropriate material, as the State statutes make no provisions or exceptions for Media Specialists to place pedophile or other sexually age-inappropriate materials within reach of elementary school kids.  Perceptions of "literary value" are not an absolute defense for the distribution of pornographic materials to minors under Florida State Law.  

The Path Forward

As the Pinellas County School Board carefully considers the concerns raised during this contentious meeting, they may embark on a collaborative approach to reviewing the challenged books. Striking a balance between the principles of freedom of expression and age-appropriate content will be essential in ensuring a positive and inclusive learning environment for all students.  The School Board would prefer to push the issue on to the shoulders of the parents,  musing as to why the parents are not using the appeals process to ask for objectionable material to be reviewed.  However, the current appeals process is governed by the same media specialists who purchased the materials to begin with, akin to asking a parole candidate to be the determinant of the decision of his parole.  One recent book appeal made the national news, as the media specialists placed the book featuring graphic illustrations of minors having sex back on the shelves of Pinellas County Schools.  The consensus of the speakers at the meeting reading from the materials was a uniform vote of no confidence in the existing school board or appeals process to correct what they perceived as the urgency of protecting minors from graphically sexual materials. 

As the meeting was broadcast and is available for viewing, there can be no question as to whether or not the explicit material exists within the shelves of the Pinellas County elementary, middle and high schools with specific references that has been independently validated by Tidings Media prior to the publication of this article.  You can also watch the speakers for yourself, and the catalogs of book availability is available for public research also.

It is crucial for the school board to address the concerns of the parents and take appropriate action, even if it means reassessing the presence of certain books in school libraries. The board's response will set a precedent for how other school districts handle similar issues, emphasizing the significance of an ongoing dialogue between educators, parents, and the community at large.

The Pinellas County School Board meeting on August 1, 2023, underscored the complex nature of balancing freedom of expression with the responsibility to provide a safe and appropriate educational environment. As the board deliberates on the next course of action, they face the challenge of preserving the diversity of thought in literature while upholding their commitment to protecting students from potentially harmful, illegal material. Only through constructive dialogue and collaborative efforts can they find a solution that benefits all stakeholders involved in the education of Pinellas County's students.