A top advocate with the Florida Freedom to Read Project harshly criticized the decision by local school officials to remove Amanda Gorman鈥檚 famous poem 鈥淭he Hill We Climb鈥� from its elementary shelves because one parent claimed it was meant to 鈥渃ause confusion and indoctrinate students.鈥�
Raegan Miller joined SA国际传谋鈥檚 Tim Padgett and Kate Payne on the South Florida Roundup and said the process to remove it, along with several books, lacked transparency and amounted to censorship.
鈥淚 absolutely believe that this is a form of censorship,鈥� said Miller, who serves as the director of development at the Florida Freedom to Read Project.
She questioned why other parents weren't consulted by school officials prior to making the move.
鈥淭he parents of the school should have been notified that there was a challenge,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ll the other parents of the school should have had a seat at the table. They should have been able to voice their opinion.鈥�
鈥淚f this parent didn't want their child to have access, why is there simply not an opt-out policy for that parent?鈥�
The poem was one of four titles placed on a restricted list for elementary students. Among the other books were: 鈥淭he ABCs of Black History鈥� by Rio Cortez and 鈥淐uban Kids鈥� by George Ancona.
The books remain available to students at the school in grades 6-8 even though the parent, Daily Salinas, wanted them removed altogether.
The Miami Herald reported that the decision was made by a committee of teachers, a media specialist and the school鈥檚 principal.
In an interview with SA国际传谋, Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz said the Miami Lakes school was following policy.
鈥淭he process worked,鈥� Diaz said. 鈥淎 parent has the right to make a complaint. But the process was put into effect and it worked where they deemed the proper placement of the books. And the students still have access to it at the right level. And no books were banned.鈥�
READ MORE: Top education official defends decision to restrict presidential inauguration poem
The Daily Beast , has connections to the far鈭抮ight group Proud Boys and the conservative group Moms for Liberty.
The flurry of removals and reshelving come in response to new state laws and state policies increasing scrutiny of instructional materials and empowering parents and residents to decide what is considered 鈥渁ppropriate.鈥�
In official issued by the Florida Department of Education earlier this year, state officials they could be charged with a crime if they provide books that are deemed 鈥渉armful to minors,鈥� a reference to the state鈥檚 .
According to a review by the free expression advocacy group , 175 books have been removed from shelves in Florida. Meanwhile, the says the number of attempted book bans nationwide is the highest on record 鈥� and that the 鈥渧ast majority鈥� of titles being targeted are by or about .
On the South Florida Roundup, we also spoke about what has been happening in the City of Miami government and the impact Russia will continue to have in Cuba.
Listen to the full conversation here.
SA国际传谋 Education Reporter Kate Payne contributed to this story.
