Why this Escambia County mom is suing her daughters' school district
Lindsay Durtschi isn’t worried about her kids.
Her children will grow up in a home where they learn how to love and respect those with different viewpoints.
Books that interest them will always be easily accessible.
They will always have someone to talk to if they have questions about difficult topics.
Difficult conversations will be initiated when questions arise.
Durtschi — a Pensacola mother of two, PTA member, optometrist and plaintiff in PEN America's book banning lawsuit against Escambia County Schools — isn’t worried about her kids. But she is worried about the other children who don't have those guarantees.
“At the end of the day, my kids are going to get a healthy, comprehensive collection of — whether it be reading material, knowledge, or history — the good, the bad and the ugly of our country and our state. They're hopefully going to get that at home ... but so many kids aren't,” Durtschi said. “Once I began to learn and think legally what this law was doing for those kids — I couldn't be quiet anymore.”
What does the PEN America lawsuit entail?
Pen America and publisher Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the nation, filed a federal lawsuit alleging the book bans in the Escambia County Public Schools are unconstitutional and is calling for them to be returned to school libraries.
The lawsuit states that public education should ensure students' access to a wide range of topics and diverse viewpoints. It further alleges that Escambia County has attempted to exclude certain ideas by removing or restricting books that have been part of the school libraries for years, sometimes even decades.
The school board is accused of removing and restricting access to books discussing race, racism and LGBTQ+ identities, against the recommendations of the district review committee, thus violating the First Amendment. The lawsuit contends that the school district has shown more interest in censoring certain ideas and viewpoints than in teaching concepts.
The lawsuit also alleges that the school district and school board are violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. The books targeted for removal are disproportionately written by non-white and/or LGBTQ+ authors and often address themes related to race or LGBTQ+ identity.
“Books have the capacity to change lives for the better, and students in particular deserve equitable access to a wide range of perspectives,” said Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, in a statement. "Censorship, in the form of book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, are a direct threat to democracy and our Constitutional rights.”
Durtschi said she would encourage the public to hold the school board accountable throughout the process as the lawsuit unfolds.
”I would just encourage the general public to keep their eyes peeled on what happens there and to not think that they have no control. The days for writing in and contesting a lot of this legislature are long passed. So, what they need to do now is call the school board,” she said. “The hope is they're going to err on the side of their constituents, especially if they have children in the public school system.”
Why Durtschi is heading the Escambia County book crusade
Durtschi is deeply worried for the kids who will never have the opportunity to see themselves in a story. Characters they relate to. Family dynamics they come home to. Crushes they have. Hardships they encounter.
She fears their own lives and circumstances will be viewed as dirty, scandalous, unnatural and extraordinary. Not main-character worthy like all the other books that line the library shelves.
She’s worried that when a child is told a book involving a LGBTQ+ relationship is “bad” it will shape the their views on real-life children and families.
Durtschi also worries what will be taken next, if the right to read freely is waived away without a fight.
“It has become tyrannical,” Durtschi said. “And it starts here, it starts with people obeying in advance before they are told to do so. And in assuming that those in charge have their best interests at heart, and we know from history, that's not the case.”
She knows she’s not the only one who feels the way she does but understands that people have a lot to lose by binding their name to a controversy. Putting a career in jeopardy or their own child in harm’s way of political crossfire.
But when the time came, and America’s largest book publishing company went to battle with Escambia County School District and its school board over the removal of self-selected library books, she signed on in solidarity, along with Escambia parent Ann Novakowski.
“I decided, based on the many months I had spent talking to teachers and other parents that this truly affected but that didn't feel safe or didn't feel allowed to speak out on behalf of themselves. I just felt that it was my opportunity to speak out for them,” she said.
"For the most part, I've had so much positive feedback from around the nation, you know, people thanking me. Not that it's me that needs to be thanked. It is obviously the bravery of organizations like PEN America and people that have been, whether it be under persecution for being part of the LGBTQ community or people that have been in marginalized communities. They've been dealing with this a lot longer than I have. Even after all of this is finished, whether that ever happens in the near future or not, they're still going to be left to deal with this."
Banning books beyond pornography
The leading cause for removing books is their “exposure to pornography.” But from Durtschi’s experience, especially when serving on the district’s material review committee for the teen novel “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier, that wasn’t all that was happening.
The book she reviewed was being flagged for LGBTQ “indoctrination” because a boy expressed having a crush on another boy, an easily overlooked detail by her third-grade daughter.
“I had already read the book with my third-grader who loves all of Raina Telgemeier’s books, so I didn’t think anything of it. We reread it, we just kind of discussed it together. She didn’t say anything about that one piece. There was no LGBTQ indoctrination. I still have a straight child as far as I know,” she said.
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When it came time for a community public forum on the book that she and her daughter read together, she listened as people without any children expressed opinions and beliefs, some without any connection to the book at all.
It was disturbing for her to think that they were in that position because of the opinion of one person who flagged the book in the first place.
“One parent cannot tell me what my kid can read and what my kid can't read, and what is and is not appropriate. Because a lot of things parents do I find incredibly inappropriate. But it's not my jurisdiction,” Durtschi said. “A lot of the people that are wanting these books to be banned — they don't want their kids and grandkids to know that they were one of the people still throwing stones ... the problem is weak people that are afraid of change.”
Where does the school district stand now?
The county paused its book challenge process in April in response to Florida HB 1467, which seeks to establish statewide practices and policies surrounding the content of school library books.
Six books have been banned by the school board since last year, and four have been saved at their hands.
Escambia’s Media Services Coordinator Michelle White said they are waiting for further guidance from the state on how to proceed moving forward. The district has received 183 book challenges in total.
A list of current challenges can be found here.
Brandon Girod contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia school book ban lawsuit led by Pensacola mom Lindsay Durtschi
