EveryLibrary Institute Applauds Landmark Lawsuit Against HB1069 and Unconstitutional Book Bans in Florida

The EveryLibrary Institute strongly supports the lawsuit filed by Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks, and the Authors Guild, alongside bestselling authors and brave Florida students and parents. This legal action challenges the unconstitutional provisions of Florida's HB 1069, a law that has wreaked havoc on school libraries and deprived students of access to vital literary works.

Students must be empowered to explore books that challenge, inform, and inspire them. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs will argue that “HB 1069’s book removal provisions violate the Supreme Court test, articulated in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15(1973), evaluating media content for obscenity by reviewing works as a whole for their literary, artistic, political, and scientific value, and extended to minors inErznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205 (1975).” The Supreme Court's decision in Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico (1982) affirmed that students have the right to access diverse ideas and information and that school libraries are essential in providing that access. Students deserve to have a voice and agency in their reading choices, supported by school librarians' professional guidance and parents' involvement. 

We also want to recognize the school librarians across Florida who have heroically upheld their ethical responsibilities despite the challenges imposed by HB 1069. These librarians have continued to serve their students with integrity, ensuring that, as much as possible, young people still have access to the books they need to grow and learn. We hope this lawsuit will not only restore students' right to read freely but also liberate school librarians from the constraints of this harmful law, allowing them to fully support their students' educational journeys.

There is an unseen cost to Florida schools and taxpayers because of  HB 1069's mandated censorship. HB 1069 requires that every library digitally catalog every single book on their shelves and where they are filed, and upload those lists to a publicly available database. Ostensibly, this is so parents are able to see if there are books on the list that they object to and challenge them for removal. However, this requirement extends beyond school libraries to every classroom in the state, meaning schools must go classroom by classroom to find and digitally catalog every single book.

Schools and school libraries are already woefully understaffed, and the demands of this bill have forced many school districts to outsource the work to third-party contractors. The financial burden is staggering: it is estimated that it will cost between $34,000 and $135,000 per library or school to comply with this mandate. On average, each school or library will spend $85,000 annually—an expense that ultimately falls on taxpayers. Even if this were an average cost per district, the state of Florida could end up spending $5.8 million dollars annually just to enforce this book-banning provision.

The true cost of this law is not only financial but also ethical, as it prioritizes the interests of extreme political actors over the educational needs of students and the professional expertise of educators. We thank the plaintiffs for their courage and leadership in standing up for what is right. This lawsuit is a critical step toward restoring the professional discretion of librarians and educators, who are uniquely qualified to assess the educational value of literature. Students must have access to books that reflect the diverse identities, experiences, and perspectives that make up our world.