Polk County schools switch to 'opt-out-only' process for restricting library books. Here's what that means

Maya Lora, The Ledger
·6 min read
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POLK COUNTY — Parents concerned about what their children are checking out of the library can make use of the Polk County Public School system's "opt-out" policy until Aug. 17.

While parents can restrict their children from reading any of the materials available in the school's library system, the policy follows a challenge from a conservative group in late 2021 concerning 16 books the group deemed "pornographic" and in violation of Florida Statutes.

In late July, Superintendent Frederick Heid presented an "opt-in" policy for those 16 books, which included titles like "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. Heid said parents would use an online form that would authorize the library to loan those books out to students who request them. If a parent did not give their student permission to check out the challenged books through the opt-in policy, students would be barred from those titles.

Challenged books: Polk Schools returns 16 books in question to libraries, opposing group threatens to sue

In late July, Superintendent Frederick Heid presented an "opt-in" policy for those 16 books, which included titles like "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini.
In late July, Superintendent Frederick Heid presented an "opt-in" policy for those 16 books, which included titles like "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher and "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini.

How will the 'opt-out-only' policy work?

That policy has since been replaced by an opt-out-only option. During two windows of the school year, parents will be able to log in to their online portal and select any books they don't want their students to be able to check out of the library. The first window is started Aug. 3 and runs through Wednesday. The second window is between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15.

Additionally, students who are new to the school system or transfer schools will have 10 business days to complete the opt-out policy. A tutorial on how to opt out of certain materials is available here. 

If a parent does not select any titles they object to, the system will default to allowing a student to access all media available at their school library.

READ MORE ON THE POLK LIBRARY BOOK CONTROVERSY:

Polk County Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid.
Polk County Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid.

A majority of Polk school board members did not support having both opt-in and opt-out processes

In an emailed statement, PCPS spokesperson Kyle Kennedy said that while Heid had recommended having both an opt-in and opt-out process, that was "not supported by a majority of Polk County School Board members."

But some school members did support the opt-in policy.

"What I would propose is an opt-in system wherein the books in the library are segregated so that students don't have access to them unless they have parental permission," Board member Lynn Wilson said.

In a phone call, Kennedy said he could not comment on behalf of the School Board members who objected to the opt-in policy.

Sara Beth Wyatt, chair of the School Board and one of the members who objected to the opt-in policy, did not reply to a request for comment.

At the May 10 School Board work session, Heid discussed having a "permission slip" for parents for in-classroom reading materials, as some of the books on the challenged list may find their way onto a teacher's syllabus for the year. Some of the titles — such as "Beloved" and "The Kite Runner" — are recommended reading for Advanced Placement literature courses. Parents would give permission for their students to read those materials for class, according to Heid's presentation.

Wyatt said at the meeting that while she would support the permission slip approach for classroom material, she would not support an opt-in process for library media.

Kennedy said that at the beginning of the school year, parents receive a list of the books that will be read and analyzed in class. Parents can contact the teacher if they have any concerns.

If a student has been assigned material their parents object to, they will be given an alternate assignment, Kennedy said.

Kennedy's emailed statement said that PCPS is "committed to empowering parents and guardians to have the most choice about what books their children can access in the school library."

"Polk County Public Schools has developed a new online tool that allows parents and guardians to control what books and media materials their children can access in their school's library," the PCPS website's back-to-school guide reads. "As you may know, school districts in Florida and nationwide have received challenges questioning whether some library books' content is inappropriate for students.

"The Library & Media Materials Opt-Out Process was created over the summer and gives parents and guardians a convenient way to see a list of all materials available through their child's school library, and they can "opt out" of any books that they find objectionable," the website continues.

While the new policy no longer requires parents to "opt in" if they want their student to be able to check out the 16 challenged books, those books will be highlighted within the opt-out system for any parents looking for those titles. These are the 16 books that were challenged but ultimately retained at some level within the school system:

  • "Almost Perfect" by Brian Katcher.

  • "Beloved" by Toni Morrison.

  • "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison.

  • "Drama" by Raina Telgemeier.

  • "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Foer.

  • "George" by Alex Gino.

  • "I am Jazz" by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings

  • "It’s Perfectly Normal" by Robbie Harris.

  • "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini.

  • "More Happy Than Not" by Adam Silvera.

  • "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult.

  • "Real Live Boyfriends" by E. Lockhart.

  • "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher.

  • "Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins.

  • "Two Boys Kissing" by David Levithan.

  • "The Vincent Boys" by Abbi Glines.

The books were highlighted by the conservative group County Citizens Defending Freedom. The group claimed the books were either "harmful to children" or meet the definition of pornography under Florida State Statutes 847.001 and 847.012, according to previous Ledger reporting.

A member of County Citizens Defending Freedom speaks to the Polk County School Board Tuesday evening as Chairwoman Sara Beth Wyatt listens.
A member of County Citizens Defending Freedom speaks to the Polk County School Board Tuesday evening as Chairwoman Sara Beth Wyatt listens.

POLK COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD RACES ARE HEATED:

In a July 29 press release, CCDF said that the previous opt-in policy was a "major victory for parents' right to have a say in the manner and extent to which their children are exposed to sexually explicit and potentially traumatic materials in schools."

"The new policy affirms that it is ultimately every individual parent or guardians' right to decide whether their underage child is exposed to library books with explicit, mature, and potentially disturbing content," the press release reads. "Parents in Polk County and throughout the nation are beginning to recognize that their children are often exposed to shocking and age-inappropriate content that would have been unthinkable in the classrooms and school libraries just ten or fifteen years ago, often instead of literature that could educate and enrich them or help shape their character."

CCDF did not reply to multiple requests for comments concerning the change to an opt-out only policy.

Maya Lora can be reached with tips or questions at mlora@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @mayaklora. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County schools change policy for library book restrictions