TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, fresh from delivering the State of the State address Tuesday, was in the Tampa Bay area to discuss what his office called “exposing the book ban hoax.”
Before the governor entered the room to speak, his office played a five-minute video of what it said was "misinformation" from national and local media about books being taken off school shelves.
The video then proceeded to "expose" the "myths" surrounding this issue, the so-called "book ban hoax."
The video continues, showing examples of "sexually explicit" and "pornographic" books the governor's office says were found in multiple school district libraries across Florida, including here in the Tampa Bay area.
The video then asks the question, "Are these ideologically driven books an appropriate use of taxpayer money?" and "If you can't discuss these books in a school board meeting [because they are explicit], how are they appropriate for children?"
The video ends with the statement, "Children need to learn about history, not hate."
DeSantis specifically mentioned the viral video taken by a Duval County substitute teacher showing empty books shelves in the school library, calling it a "false narrative" and a "hoax," and noting the teacher had since been fired for their actions.
"We believe in strong, rigorous education," DeSantis said Wednesday, "we believe in the rights of parents to be involved in the education of their children and therefore have enacted curriculum transparency legislation so that the parents know what books are being used in the classroom, what books do their kids have access to, and then they have procedures that they can say 'wait a minute...that is pornographic — why would we have that in a media center with 10-year-old students?' It's just wrong, and a lot of parents now have been empowered to make sure these are appropriate environments."
Duval County's superintendent provided some clarity on the situation, specifying that the district instructed educators to practice an "abundance of caution" when it came to books in schools so as to not be in violation of Florida law requiring all library books available to students to be approved by a certified media specialist.
Under new training guidelines recently approved by the State Board of Education, media specialists are advised to avoid materials with “unsolicited theories that may lead to student indoctrination.”
"It's not book banning, it's protecting our children," Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said during the news conference, adding later that the examples brought up in the video "are clearly pornographic."
He also said Florida teachers should know which books are purportedly pornographic in schools.
DeSantis also had a Hillsborough County mother, Julie Gebhards who said after her 15-year-old daughter brought in a book that contained "incest," "rape" and "sexual violence," she began making a list of books that are in Hillsborough County schools and said she found a "profoundly deep cesspool of filth."
DeSantis' trip to Tampa comes as the Florida Legislature kicks off a 60-day session. With a Republican supermajority, the governor's wish list of agenda items is likely to be largely passed.
Some of the 10 big issues to watch include the budget, death penalty, guns, and school boards. DeSantis also signaled support for two GOP-backed bills that seek to prevent abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.