SCS | Board Special Meeting - Book Challenge - February 7, 2023 **FULL MEETING**

001down here good afternoon I'd like to call this meeting to order the book challenge hearing regarding the book stamped racism anti-racism and You by Jason Reynolds and ibram X Kendy please stand for the flag salute foreign thank you the procedure for this hearing will be the Challenger will be entitled to up to 10 minutes to assert why the challenge material is objectionable and why board members may ask the Challenger questions a representative from the school district will then be entitled up to up to 10 minutes to outline the challenge procedures that have occurred to that have occurred to date assert how the challenge material complies or does not comply with applicable criteria and recommend an outcome regarding this material board members may as the District representative questions ask excuse me the the District representative questions

002The District representative is Rob Manoogian uh permit the Challenger up to two minutes to rebuke contingents raised by The District representative the board may also ask the Challenger questions the board will then permit public comment following public comment the board will make a determination regarding the challenge material if the board deems that the challenge material does not meet applicable criteria it can discontinue the use of it for any grade level or any group for which use is inappropriate at this time I will open the floor to the Challenger if she is present thank you you have 10 up to 10 minutes and actually a pardon me before you get started I just want to make sure if any members of the public want to speak that cards are in the back and you may hand

003them to Mrs turmine over here to my left sorry you may proceed okay thank you to the board for your time uh to review the book Challenge and to Rob uh magounan supervisor of instructor and Structural Materials and Library services for his professional guidance through the established Sarasota County School Board book challenge policy I'd also like to thank the committee of teachers and parents who engage in this review and provided their insight this interaction displays an established process in Sarasota County School District for parents and community members to challenge and find remedy for sensitive controversial or inappropriate conduct in our school libraries active engagement from parents is important and necessary if a parent has concerns with resources in our schools then I encourage them to respectfully adhere to this process designed by the Sarasota County

004School Board I come before the board today as a concerned parent to make you aware of materials found in multiple libraries which are available to students in six through high sixth grade through high school as a self-guided resource incorporating the tenets of critical race Theory this revolutionary Dogma is repurposed from its Marxist origin to spark class conflict into the race-based conflict teachings of today designed for an American audience regardless of the focus on class or race the principles remain the same sixth grade through High School are formative years of relationship building exploration peer-to-peer engagement and learning empathy for one another as children gain those experiences and mature organic empathetic discussions and relationships help children to navigate this environment advocate for themselves and others and balance complex situations these Tender Years are also ripe for indoctrination

005and theory-based persuasion the content of this book is of concern do its to due to it strongly uh one-sided perspective use of critical race ideological language and strongly editorialized inferences regarding intent available to children in our schools the school board using legislative guidance has the ultimate responsibility to determine if this matter is legal and appropriate within our school libraries as notice as noted by other reviewers during the process they too express some concerns about the content within the book and younger students comprehension additionally reviewers acknowledge the book was written in an editorial Style from one perspective which picked and chose historical facts to fit the author's opinion in effect this persuades students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the principal's estate academic standards let us not be fooled critical race theorists are masters

006of language Construction these concerns should be explored further as some students in our district struggle with basic on grade level comprehension much less the ability to decipher common strategies used to evaluate an author's persuasive argument that Stern that discernment is key for students to compare or to separate opinion from fact especially when authors intertwine the two in tandem controversial topics discussions and idea sharing are all healthy and beneficial learning tools towards our shared Humanity when age appropriate done with proper context on the subject matter and knowing the author's bias and intent I looked to the elected school board and legal advisors for their guidance related to legislative principles and code to determine adherence to the statutory criteria of this material as rightfully noted by the reviewers of this book this book is not included in

007instruction materials as outlined in Florida statute 1006.28.2a however the context itself itself Marxist origin and age-appropriateness as a self-guided resource should be evaluated by this board relevate relative to Florida statute 1006.28.2b as material used in school libraries it should also be considered if this book meets the intended definition of supported materials given its accessibility in school libraries consistent with the principles of individual freedoms outline in Florida statute 1003.42.3 a through f this statute reads in part the legislature acknowledges the fundamental truth that all persons are equal before the law and have inalienable rights accordingly instruction and supporting materials on the topics enumerated in this section must be consistent with the following principles of individual freedom no person is inherently racist sexist or oppressive whether consciously or unconsciously solely by the virtue of his or her

008race or sex no race is inherently Superior to another no person shall be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly on the basis of race color national origin religion disability or sex meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are not racist but fundamental to the right to pursue happiness and be rewarded for industry a person by virtue of his or her racer sex does not bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex and lastly A person shall not be instructed that he or she must feel guilt anguish or other forms of psychological distress for actions in which he or she played no part committed in the past by other members of the same sex or race it's up to this board to

009determine if these materials found in Sarasota County School libraries adhere to the legislative guidelines fundamental truths and statutes as parents Guardians and caregivers we have a great responsibility to our children to take the opportunity to freely engage with our school system when we need to lastly the school board again has the ultimate responsibility to make a decision on the age-appropriateness and content of materials available in our school libraries whatever the board's final decision produces we should acknowledge that a process of Engagement is available with parents to raise concerns along with the school board this is not the decision of one person rather it is the conclusion of a democratic engagement of many who have provided insight into this review thank you very much if you board members do have any questions or comments for the

010Challenger seeing none I want to thank you for taking the time and coming forward to share your opinion and as you mentioned highlight the process so thank you very much moving on we will call Mr Manoogian to present the school district's perspective you also have up to 10 minutes foreign first I'd like to thank the board for having me today and of course convening to discuss this important topic it is very important and secondly I would like to expressly thank there you are Mrs Euchre and I by now are fast friends we've been having conversations since May and I really can't um thank you enough it's been a pleasure to work with her through this process she originally contacted us at in May of last year and it did fall right at the end of

011the school year so um as our process defines we I contacted the school she spoke with Mr diverno at Venice Middle School they had a conversation ultimately it was decided that they would convene their work group to review the material and which they did prior to the end of the school year and they decided at the school level their recommendation was that the book be isolated for eighth grade only um I offered that to Mrs Euchre and at which point she um made use of her right to appeal that and it came back to me and and here's where I have to thank her again because I reached out and said it's the end of the school year everyone's leaving for the summer and and she was wonderful in in agreeing to to hold off

012until the fall and then as you all know we had a hurricane then we had another hurricane so this process has been taking place for quite some time ultimately we we did convene a district level work group that I oversaw the work again I think it's important to recognize that this process works and that I don't similar to our textbook adoption District staff we we don't really have any say we coordinate we run the process we guide and direct ultimately it's up to those work groups to to make a decision and decide what they view that that work group impressed me at the school level I think it's important to say that I don't really have a hand in that that's done at the school site so I'm not privy to exactly what happens at

013those meetings I just get the results back once it comes to the district level though I am running those meetings um listening to the conversation providing guidance and advice if if asked there were some wonderful conversations in that District work group about content uh in in the age level at which that content was available to students I I would say at that time some of the conversation fell to the the breakdown between what is considered a self-selected reading material and what is viewed as an instructional material and we did you know and I think that's really important I know Mrs Euchre mentioned that but I think it's important for the board and everyone else to fully understand that the way we view that instructional material versus a self-selected text in a library and I know

014that there are statutes and guidance guidelines for those self-selected materials as well however um you know the the work group seem to believe that the the point of view of the appeal was that this was CRT and violated House Bill seven and forgive me um I mix up the sevens as I refer to them House Bill 7 15 57 and 1467. so House Bill seven um related to uh CRT and and conversations about race and that's where we differentiated between because the bill specifically states that those materials used for instruction in this book is not being used for district instruction um in the district so that that conversation I guided them through that conversation um there still were some concerns uh about age level appropriateness for sixth graders ultimately it was decided that if a

015sixth grader picked up that book in a self-selected capacity and then got two or three pages into it and had trouble understanding that ultimately they would put the book back and they weren't being directed to read that that book um so ultimately the district work group's decision was to have the book remain accessible grade 6 12 where it is already currently available in our district at that point I contacted Mrs Euchre and she availed herself of her appeal process once again which leads us to today so essentially you know not having seen that process I've been in this position for 10 years and I've been around this I served on some committees District level challenge committees nothing is in my time has ever risen to the level of a board challenge it is wonderful to

016see the process at work and and and be proud of the way it works knowing on both sides that that parents and citizens have the right to Avail themselves of that process and then you know I the professionalism that I saw and witnessed from our teachers and staff and having real conversations about those it wasn't just closed-minded we met and met for nearly two hours while they they hashed it out um the the best the best they could so you know at that point uh that that's an overview of how the process um runs essentially here um I don't know if at this point you have questions for me uh that pertain to that process but I would be happy to answer uh thank you so much do members of the board have any comments

017or questions for Mr Manoogian Mrs Rose and then I have Mr Edwards I have a question relative Mr Manoogian to first off I just want to say thank you for all the work that you and your team Mrs meckler and and so forth and so on I've done on this I very much appreciate it my question is under the non-instructional materials criteria and it states that a book self-select should be without bias or indoctrination are you confident you and your team that this particular book doesn't contain bias or indoctrination are you asking me per just to clarify are you asking me personally or in professionally in our country okay so I professionally those conversations that we have had revolve around the fact outside of this being a self-selected text revolve around the fact that this

018is this presents clearly a side of an issue um and even the people that I have worked with and have read the book in a professional capacity not weighing in on this fall on all sides and though the message may not be one that they necessarily agree with they also see the value in the fact that this material was presented as a side of an issue and that there will be other sides and other perspectives and I think it's important that instructional materials and Library materials as as indicated I don't have it in front of me and it's one of the pieces of legislation I don't have memorized but also require that materials present multiple sides of issues and that while this book may not be everyone's cup of tea it does present a side

019of an issue and that when red um as more of an op-ed piece that there is value in that material um the author States multiple times this is not a history book I'm not trying to pre I'm paraphrasing him but not not trying to portray this as this is it everything that happened exactly the way I write it and I think that was that that is the consensus that is my consensus from a professional level and the consensus of others that have read this material outside the scope of of the district review process because again I I don't weigh in on those meetings no one I I don't have anything other than to guide and answer questions provide resources in terms of legislation so the district level committee was given copies of all the legislation

020and told to read the book from that perspective thank you very much for that clarification thank you very much Mr Edwards thank you um if I understand the process correctly I think you you may and this is what I was told the original um process started with the parent and the school only and the original decision was that the those parents child did not would be prevented from checking out the book was that the first decision that was rendered so I I can't speak to that specific statement so so policy as it as it stands right now um puts the onus on the school's principle to originally have a conversation with the parent and and we whatever resolution they discuss um can be accepted at that point so you know I the thinking for me

021is that that original conversation would include we understand you're concerned about this material um we can certainly flag your child's library account so that if they go to check this material out a message will come up that says parent request that this book not be circulated to the student in some cases that may satisfy the complainant and they may say you know what that's perfect I didn't realize I could do that and the process would end there if if that conversation um doesn't reach in amenable conclusion then it would move to a more formal process which happens at the school level which is the school review and then in this case the the recommendation from the school review was that it be relegated to eighth grade only and and again I mean there's no judgment

022there in saying that in this case Mrs Euchre said no I I would like to appeal that um and move the process further and then once it hits My Level you know the the impacts of that are far-reaching because now we're at the district level and now any decision that District committee makes touches all levels it leaves the the School site and now it touches potentially you know if if the district committee were to say you know what we believe this book or any book belongs 11th and 12th grade access only or just high schools that would impact all schools um so I I hope I answered your question I appreciate your your explanation Mr Duggan um as per our conversations was the original conversation between the school and the parent the first the first

023recommendation back to the parent was your child will won't have to won't be allowed to check out this book does that resolve the issue yeah I don't know specifically what that conversation looked like the Challenger might be able to weigh in but yes that would theoretically resolve the situation if that's what occurred okay so my understanding then I mean this is what I've I've been led to believe that that was the resolution which to me satisfy should satisfy a a you know my child I don't want my child to read this book for all of the reasons that have been described by as two sides of the issue all this that the other thing I don't want my child to read this book so then that was appealed and then we've convened yet another group

024of parents and teachers and and then and I'm trying to ascertain and I appreciate your um commitment to the process let's say you and and your your professionalism to see the process through from from start to finish through to hurricanes to school terms all of that and to keep the ball moving along so I I appreciate that but so then we have a second panel who have to read the book who have to get involved and the decision was okay how about if we just allow eighth graders and and above to read the book and then that decision was appealed is that is that correct yeah so the first part would have been the conversation with the administration the second part technically would be the school-based process that I think you're referencing and then the

025appeal which moves it to my level I mean My Level more formally than just hey we have a parent who's concerned how do we do this right which comes out of the school so um and if you had to take a guess about how many hours you Mrs meckler the principal teachers had to be involved in this this process could you take it just a ballpark so so I though I'm self-preservation here so so I'm certainly there's no right or wrong answer no no I so I'm certainly not I don't want to stand up here and say oh it's a light lift on my part have at it you know I just you know but at the same time my my role is is somewhat limited right I read the book I I read the

026book because I want to and and I want to get a better understanding um you know from the school-based committee you know we we kind of stretch it out over three weeks you know we we have to pull people together um you know that takes sometimes a little bit of time because teachers are doing this voluntarily parents are doing this voluntarily um and then it's a matter of giving them a reasonable amount of time because you can imagine a teacher's workload anybody's workload in general without saying here you know you're not necessarily reading this book for pleasure because you want to but you're being asked to so you know however long it takes to read the the book and then convene a meeting and and have a meeting so so we have a meeting at

027the onset um an hour or so just to I can lay down the ground rules provide any documentation that they may need or want um and then you know however long it takes to read the book and then reconvene and that meeting goes until we have an opinion to to provide um so that can go I mean in the case of the district committee it went almost two hours you know I mean with conversation so I I don't know how you ballpark that in terms of you know it didn't take it took a month but it wasn't a month it's not a month it's not a month of work Mr Duggan um I'm also under the impression through my inquiries that um the expense the school district has incurred around stamped is around twenty thousand

028dollars um it's not firm uh so here's the final number but it's a ballpark number that was given to me does that sound about right to you uh well I can't talk to the entire District I can tell you that at least as far as my review of it I was asked by one of your colleagues to read it took me six or seven hours to read the book it's about 250 Pages the copy I had 250 260 pages pretty big font but I had to labor a little bit through it frankly because it's pretty dense content um I did that this past weekend so you know obviously my hourly rate is what that is for that amount of time um you know prior to putting these materials together it probably was another five or

029six hours you know I had some meetings with Mr runoff the actor and superintendent I've had various discussions with Mr mnuchin throughout this entire process to make sure that he had the proper legal guidance and knew what the proper statutes were and really these statutes jump around as you all know from reading the materials I put together for you so I don't know I probably have all in on this from a legal standpoint uh 11 or 12 hours I would say total um maybe 15 somewhere in that ballpark at my hourly rate so I'd say that would be around five thousand dollars for just my involvement very very roughly okay thank you um and lastly um what I'm I I want to try and get to is that I I just really appreciate what you

030said about um it's the other side of an issue I also spent time with the book and um I think the public sentiment that I have gotten from parents is that they appreciate the school district's concern in terms of making sure their children have the opportunity to examine both sides of an issue and to research when possible both sides of an issue and that that in turn leads to critical thinking so I just want to concl close with that for now and I appreciate all of your time all of your effort and the team as well thank you thank you thank you Mrs Marinelli I got it right thank you madam chair thank you for all the hard work I have a question can you please explain how um the team or anybody decides what

031is age appropriate for a student to read so I excellent question and I don't know how how great of an answer I can give you to be honest with you right so um you know in considering we were presented with a unique challenge here in that challenge that I expressed to Mrs Euchre as well was this process started before legislation became law on July 1 1467 and in other pieces of legislation guiding those things and that's not to excuse it away but when we started the process I communicated with District staff I communicated with Ms Euchre that we would be starting this process using the policies and what we had in front of us when the challenge was was started um you know to determine what is aging grade level appropriate we have some resources

032right we we try to consult and we did and I asked them to right consult um professional review sites I mean that's echoed in law now and required of District media Specialists to do but consult you know get those recommendations from sources um whether crowdsourced whether professional review sites that made age recommendations um one of the again another unique factor with this book is there are three versions of this book there is an elementary version there is a what I would call a secondary version which is the book before you and and there is the original publication which I would say marketed in as much as I don't like using the term because it has weird connotations it's an adult book um so you know it the decisions are based on those teachers and and

033their point of view from the students they serve and the students they teach that's my opinion I mean no one's telling them well this book was written for so you would have teachers or staff make the argument that if they're serving A Gifted population those kids can comprehend content at a higher level well that that is true it also we also then have to have the conversation about content appropriateness for those students as well so yes they can absorb more maybe but so this this book fell into that gray area and we had the school principle that served on the district committee who raised concerns about the accessibility of this text for younger kids sixth graders and it wasn't that he found or anyone on the committee necessarily found it inappropriate it was just the

034density of the content so you heard Mr Duggan say it's pretty dense it's it can be pretty dense and again I I go back to what continued to come up through this process this is a self-selected text and if I can step outside of my professional self for a second and say if I were in sixth grade and I pulled this book off a shelf I probably would have gotten about 10 pages in and I would have gone put it back on the Shelf so I mean that that that's why I think it's so important that yes we do bear a responsibility to provide students with content that is appropriate but at the same time we need wide and varied content and self-selected text that they have the right to put back so we afford

035our students especially young students they have and I'm not saying right or wrong right they have very few their lives are are controlled as they should be manipulated by their parents and adults in their lives if going to the library and choosing a book that they want is a little bit of freedom for those kids then I view that as very important well I wasn't trying to put you on the spot no no just because this comes up yes and as a former teacher I've had to answer that kind of like you did because there's it's a very gray area but I read the book too and and I agree it was it was a difficult read as far as the density of it I thought the same thing if I taught middle school I

036know my kids would have put it back on the Shelf because they they want to most want to enjoy it not to say that's not enjoyable for all but that's that was that's a hard read because of the the density of it and the way it's written so thank you I appreciate that thank you Mr Duggan yeah I just want to add to that point when this process started was prior to the legislation typically the legislature will pass a bill and then the administrative agency in this case the Department of Education will issue guidance on what the legislation means I just want to point out that after the school-based and district-based process concluded the Department of Education did put out factors regarding what is considered age and grade appropriate which are included in your materials

037but just to be clear those were not available to Mr mnuchin or to the school-based process prior to that I just wanted to point that out for clarity thank you um well first I want to thank you Mr manubian I think that I said this over the past particular last year or so this you've had it very challenging you've had the helm a very challenging year but a very important role and something that you've said and I really I want to underscore that is through this this process is really really important and the way in grace that both you and the Challenger have approached it I really want to commend you all for that I know that in with Mr runoff and even Mr Duggan and myself that has afforded and even in my home

038and and with other people in the community has afforded a very healthy dialogue of where is this the appropriate level what what is our role in this manner how do we balance the multitude of scales because I believe that is genuinely where everyone wants to find ourselves and and when I think about the what this journey this last year in particulars look like when it comes to evaluating the current books that we have on there and that demand but there has always been a process to allow a parent or a member of our community whether or not they have a child in our school district to bring forward a challenge of of instructional material as well as library books that's been the case for a while um and so I just wanted to highlight that

039because that's not new and I think that's important because it's been engaging our community who is a stakeholder in the public education system that we have and are a um a part of the funding process so I want to implore everyone that that is something we welcome and if you look at this as an example it's a healthy discussion and we figure out where we go um one of the questions I have is um when starting with the the book entering into the library book do we know when this book entered into our circulation I didn't check every copy it seemed that most copies entered about 2019. when they were added to the system okay and and something that because when I read it it is uh and a lot of the things that you

040highlighted is is that it is very clearly one-sided and it doesn't dismiss um the narration really is underscores that this is that perspective um and overarching I think you know when we will get to age appropriateness and context in in a moment but over overall it's very clear that's one-sided and I think there's many Betty books and and different material that we'll have that are are going to offer a one-side advantage point um and that's healthy to know that this is one side as long as the reader is understanding that that is in fact with context this is a one-site advantage point that's not necessarily the whole fact and you would benefit from seeing another perspective even if it is self-selection so when you see a book like this in 2019 it's not you know

041this has kind of been this Hot Topic if you will for the lack of a better term with CRT and anti-racist and what have you um do we when we add a book like this do we look at something like a counter perspective as in entering in the circulation to balance it well just as a point of clarification and I continually forget this so this was a Sunshine State young readers Award winner um and for the audience and for everyone What specifically can you clarify what that means so the Fame sponsors they're the organizations in the state get together and they provide reviews and lists of books at varying levels okay two three five six eight and then Florida teens read is the high school version of that and that is sponsored by Fame and

042what what they do and and you can see this posted everywhere and and we kind we try to make sure that message is heard Fame explicitly States these books are intended for self-selected reading and not designed to be used as pieces of instruction so that I just I'm going on a disclaimer for fame right so so just so that's out there right they they put out these Award winners and as a matter of course we have over the years purchased a set schools and schools by those sets of books for their students so uh this may not be a fair question for you but when you say it like that are they are they is it arguable that these this package of books year over year are with their clearly identified as not to be

043uh no instructional material and they're solely self-selection having having conversations with people in Fame and and past presidents and current presidents and fame their goal is to promote to promote the love of reading and and they're they're in the joy of reading and the thinking there is to differentiate between what a teacher or an instructor may require them to read as much as a student may enjoy it versus a student going to a shelf and going that looks really cool I want to read that and pulling it off and sitting at home on their own or wherever reading it on their own versus okay here's the book that we're reading now and again regardless of how much the students may enjoy that they know I have two weeks to read this book and I have

044to write a book report or I'm going to take this test on this book so they just they go out of their way to make sure like these books are out where we're publishing these lists for students to find a book that they love um you know and I would tell you and I'm I'm going to I have the opportunity and the microphones in front of me um sees it I I'm I'm one of those kids I'm not a kid anymore but I'm one of those kids that found books and read everything my my father finished his education in eighth grade my mother is 90 my father up until the time he passed away they read a book a week I was never never no one ever said don't read that can't read that I

045mean and I'm not making the argument I'm just saying so as a teacher and somebody involved in education there's nothing to me more powerful than a kid finding a kid who Maybe isolated marginal doesn't matter doesn't matter a kid seeing themselves in a piece of text and going huh somebody else thinks feels acts does the way I do so so I just you know thank you but that's not that that's not you know I again I had that opportunity so you know when we when we have these conversations the opportunity to to remain neutral in that with that understanding and and have that conversation with people who may feel differently and that's fine but when we talk about Fame I guess that's why I was so emphatic that that's why those books are there that's

046why those books are there no I appreciate it thank you for the clarification because I I'm familiar with Sunshine State Standards or that readers excuse me but and so when we do a package like that when we uh we still vet that package right I mean they're usually they have these recommendations of here's a series of books for this year and then our processes will pick the ones that we believe work for our district right not not as formally as it will be moving forward with 1467. I mean that's just the reality of it right so so you know with the understanding that that books like that and that and that really is um at the district level about the only time we do something like that and and the lift in providing those books

047for schools was more financial than anything else to say you know this is important and we want these books because schools you know built competitions around the kids reading them and promoted them and and you know when we have you know our our life our wonderful Library texts in our schools but there's a wide and varied knowledge base there and it helps them focus on here's something you can do in a package right here's here's the here are these award-winning books that were voted on by students and teachers and people all over the state so gotcha no thank you for that um one thing I have a couple questions here and then I'm going to go to Mr Duggan um you mentioned and I know that this was a the the middle level if you

048will for compared to the initial adult version there's an elementary version I didn't know that is that do we have the elementary version in our school district I'd have to I haven't my focus I haven't checked I would have to check I I honestly don't no okay um and then to Mr thank you very much for to Mr Duggan um so I know that the statute and evaluating instructional material versus self-selection um and can you walk us through that process as comparison um because I think that the newer language there is some areas where it's how they Define it and I want to make sure we're walking the appropriate line so can you walk us through that evaluation sure so Florida statute 1006.2 a sub 2A creates um two different sets of criteria for challenging

049a book you heard the Challenger earlier today reference 2B for self-select Library material so there's one set of standards for what's called instructional material core instructional material that's things like textbooks required readings things that strongly coincide with the classroom instruction and it is a more I would describe as a more stringent standard for um you know what uh the state mandates that we instruct a student upon every student there is a more permissive standard for self-selected Library materials and classroom books which prior to recently have not been heavily regulated with more recent regulation are now more so regulated and there is a more permissive standard for self-select Library materials and so getting that determination right of whether this is an instructional material or a library material really dictates what set of criteria you would apply

050to this particular book um and recently FDLE I'm sorry F doe the Florida Department of Education has issued a proposed administrative rule that actually becomes effective in February and has issued some guidance and some training to give more clarity about what factors are to be considered for self-selected Library materials and part of the legislation that passed in July Mr mnuchin and miss meckler and her team um you know are tasked with going through the entire library and all of the classrooms and all of the libraries in the schools and applying the criteria and the statute to all of the books we have in this school district thank you and so because I know and again one of the first questions I asked given the timeline of this and understanding what transpired legislatively and then rulemaking

051and then the you know timeline being right in the middle of it um recognizing and I'm glad you highlighted that that this was applied to the initial policy and the stand and the prior statutory language but now that we're kind of in this transfer over time with more explicit directions and even that it's not formally rule that's adopted yet I would have we put this particular book now up against the that standard um that will likely be approved by the Department of Education from a library selection evaluate go ahead I can tell you that when the district even though we started the process in terms of what our local board policy was um my guidance to the district work group was I provided them with copies of House Bill 7 1557 and 1467 and asked

052them to evaluate this material measured up against those to determine and I I believe you may have that somewhere yes okay what I provided the committee so I I just want to clarify that point so in terms of looking at it against current law as current as possible when we did the review I I believe that was done no I I appreciate that okay so the questions we get from many out there so yes and thank you um I most of my questions have been answered I have additional thoughts but I certainly want to get to public comment are there any other questions for Mr Duggan or Mr Manoogian by the board Mrs Rose oh thank you madam chair um I would like a legal counsel from the most objective perspective that we have and

053the new legislation even that that hasn't been passed yet um or does this is this book in compliance from your legal standpoint having done the research and work that you've done okay so my opinion is if this was an instructional material it would probably not pass the legal scrutiny required of instructional materials as the way the state defines them importantly and this is something I just learned today if this book was acquired in 2019 that would have been prior to the state rules changes regarding required instruction so it would have if it was instructional material it would have at the time of acquisition been in compliance since then a rule has been passed that would make it prohibited as far as being a library of material um I don't think it contains pornography I think

054it's an open question and arguable both ways whether it's aging grade appropriate based on the most recent criteria provided by the Florida Department of Education and I think it probably likely is suited to the needs of the student um you know if it is aging grade appropriate so um I think you can make an argument either way whether it meets the criteria or not I really think that this is a very tough case with this book right on the edge of permissibility or not a clarification please um from your legal uh opinion you're saying that the gray area is in the age and grade level appropriateness yes that's what I think um and I think just the factor that was a question earlier today is you know whether it is uh with bias or indoctrination

055it certainly is a persuasive piece um not unlike most books frankly um it it I would describe it as a uh in my own words in one sentence would be a history of uh you know systemic discrimination against African Americans in a way that disadvantaged them and uh approaches uh how to overcome that and they kind of talk a lot about what's called an anti-racist approach being preferable to a symbolist approach or a segregationist approach um it really is even though they call it throughout the book not a history book really a history of systemic racism against African Americans so I do think that that would be within the definition of critical race Theory as the Department of Education has since we acquired this book to find it and I think that that rule applies

056to instructional materials and would be prohibited under that but as a self-selected library material I think it turns on whether it is without bias or indoctrination and I think many people would have many different opinions on that I don't know that there is a right or wrong answer to that and that really is is the issue here is I think it's right on the edge of of what whether it does that it certainly is persuasive I don't know if it quite gets to bias and indoctrination frankly is my opinion but that's just my opinion and I think reasonable people would would differ on that thank you thank you very much um if there are no more comments or questions Mrs turmine do we have any comment cards oh pardon me I'm sorry I I need

057to go to my cheat sheet this is the first one we've done I think anyone up here has done so I apologize thank you thank you uh Mr manugan thank you so much for your um valuable insights um I now will call up the Challenger uh offer any rebuttal and you will have up to two minutes to do so and my apologies just getting prepared never easy being the first first one and Rob think it was great to actually meet you in person so um I just again want to express like my gratitude for um the professionalism the guidance that Rob has shown through this and your willingness to hear this um I did want to make one clarification um Mr Edwards had asked about um you know did I did I talk to the

058principal I don't actually recall that I actually talked to him we talked about that there was you know I could you know make sure that my child didn't take it out which is fine I'll just for full disclosure my child has read this book um we do a book club and we discuss you know books and so that's kind of how this and this is actually two years ago so I've read it actually three times so maybe I'm up to like 15 grand on um on analysis um and you know again I just want to clarify that we have a process in place and I'm very thankful for that I think this is healthy um discussion about what's appropriate in our school districts this is not about banning books it's not starting bonfires in the

059middle of the you know of the of the courtyard of things that we don't agree with this is about age-appropriateness this is about understanding the impact within our society within our children within their interaction and also their emotional well-being to take that information in um as well as interest I think you know we're all humans and we understand that you know we've been in this really crazy world for about three years ish right and you know nobody likes to talk about race I don't I don't know what it is I don't mind I grew up in people a lot of people that didn't look like me has you know different um you know different languages all that so it's not in not an issue or a hard discussion to talk about what I do think

060that we want to make sure that it's age appropriate we do want to make sure that um there's some guidance too um in that so I just wanted again to say I really love this process um not that I you know want to come up every month and do this um but I do really appreciate that you all took the time the effort um and you know the interest to be here today so thank you thank you very much now members of the board we have 20 comments cards we usually have three minutes for comments we have a hard stop at two o'clock um this is unusual we actually added um to it initially it was scheduled for one hour but we were did not believe that would be afforded enough time which I'm glad

061we didn't so um I made a suggestion that we move it to two minutes so we can get through every single individual and afford ourselves the opportunity to finalize uh and conclude this giving us the next time for our um because we have a scheduled executive session uh with the attorney so is that um are there any objections to moving it to two minutes so that every person can speak and will allow ourselves to conclude Mr Edwards go ahead yeah I'm going to object on to that because um I was the proponent of public comments being at two minutes and this board has taken it and moved it to the other direction what that is saying to me is that in every public topic that this board would then decide if it's two minutes or

062three minutes and I think since this board has advertised three minutes and um in general and wants comments to be three minutes whether we're here for until whenever then that's what it takes so that's just my opinion thank you for that no I appreciate that and I did consider that however at the same time thank you I do obviously have a history of supporting public comment but I also want to make sure this is a little bit different than our usual public comment um the alternative would be we suspend and we do not conclude today so I'm going to actually move that we afford each speaker two minutes we don't take any additional time I have a motion on the floor is there a second second thank you I have a motion a second are

063there any comments uh members can we please vote Mrs Marinelli Mrs Mr Edwards no uh Mrs Rose yes Mr Enos yes and the chair votes eye and the motion passes to afford each speaker two minutes four to one so starting with the first Speaker we'll have Mrs uh Robin Williams and then after that Lila Newcomb as a Jew it's chilling to me that you're considering the Banning of stamped it's an excellent addition to any middle or High School library and frankly should be part of the curricula dealing with American history it's written in an engaging style that holds the attention of teenager's interest in uncensored history it challenges readers to question and reconsider their assumptions it shows that people can change with new information and by examining and reflecting upon different viewpoints including some of

064the historical figures the book discusses like W.E.B Du Bois it's an eye-opener and it's precisely the kind of book that helps students intellectual growth it poses important questions students need to read different viewpoints and learn how to think critically to flourish in our world students require broad educational opportunities that shouldn't be stifled because of the objections of some narrow-minded people those individuals already can write a note directing the school to prevent their child from accessing a particular book that doesn't give them the right to deny the book to other people people children and limit their education they can parent their own children not everyone else's this is supposed to be the freedom State remember freedom for all not just a few one Holocaust Survivor speaking with me this week about the potential stamp book ban

065said it brought to mind the prophetic words written in 1822 by the great German Jewish poet Heinrich heiner where they burn books they will in the end burn human beings too a hundred years later in 1933 the Nazis banned and then burned books whether or not humans wind a burn to death we're already seeing a dramatic increase in hate crimes against the Jewish lgbtq and other minority communities resulting from the empowerment of bigots in the way of Florida's anti-woke book ban and anti-gay legislation in the same year the Nazis banned books they took control of universities starting with the Hostile takeover of the University known for its liberalism and creativity Frankfurt University and then rolling over Academia throughout Germany the point of Holocaust education is to be able to connect the dots from the past

066to see the warning signs today and do something about it before it's too late when you couple Florida's book bands with last week's hostile takeover of new College one would need blind resign not to see their danger signs don't politicize our children's education don't ban Books thank you very much Lila Newcomb and Cynthia plug thank you very much we're actually I'm going to ask you once please do jazz hands so we can get through and allow every single person to be heard thank you so much hi Leela Newcomb and I am living Grandma of three children in Sarasota Public Schools and I have really enjoyed the professionalism that I've heard today uh and what I was going to say is probably like a super oversimplified version of everything that's already been presented so you know

067I guess my only thing is for one parent to continually try to rule what everybody else's child can or cannot read doesn't seem like the right thing to do um and you know give everybody uh the uh I'm sorry parental rights are one thing but for one parent to decide for everybody is a serious overstep that's my my opinion I have a sixth grade one of my three grandchildren sixth grade gifted I can guarantee you that she would put the book back in one page because it's just not her interest that my older one would probably read it cover to cover but there has been no harm found in it through the channels that uh were provided at the level below bringing it to the school board it wasn't um found dangerous and it was

068not found to be against the law so I just hope you guys will uh go along with that and thank you very much thank you very much uh Cynthia I'm sorry is it p-lug and then I have Michael Weddle I'm I must not be getting that right but and I just wanted to just um I appreciate that um the uh I don't see a reason why there should be any limitation on the freedom of speech uh for this author to be presented um it goes against uh intellectual Freedom which Librarians I think would want to promote um I don't think there's a reason to violate the uh American Library Association requirements that we have you know to work against any type of censorship since it didn't violate the laws and I appreciate the process which

069has now since recommended by teen reads that was 14 certified Florida media Specialists that recommended the book for open not as an instruction then we had the principal meeting and if I count correctly at least 22 District employees and curriculum Specialists that were required to be on the Committees to review this um I don't see that uh overturning it for use by the general public by the general students is a good way to go thank you Michael Weddle and Lisa sure hello I'm Dr Mike Weddle I'm on the board of directors for the Minnesota Branch Association for the study of African American life and culture I live in Venice where I grew up everyone looked exactly like me and I believe this is a book that Venice parents like myself should want in their library

070and I thank the Review Committee for their due diligence and I don't agree with everything in this book but that doesn't mean that I think it has no value it's written I found it in a conversational Style one person's perspective of what he learned growing up and living in society I wanted my own children to see things from perspectives outside of their bubble that's what books do they help us to learn empathy I'm a doctor I had to work with people all kinds of people and empathy was a very important skill in my career if we remove this book we need to be ready to remove other books for example the books of Helen Keller writing about her experiences and reality that none of us can share and that none of us can can know

071who on this board I don't think anyone on this board is ready to say that one black Americans experience is not valid and I don't think anyone on this board wants to make decisions about a parent's right to choose what their children can or cannot read Banning a book in Venice where I'd live for me is targeting white children I grew up in White Society it's so racialized that it's very easy to remain unaware of one's position in the real world education is giving children tools to succeed a book cannot make a person feel guilty let me say that again there's no book that can make a person feel guilty but a good book can help a person to learn empathy and that's what students need to succeed in the world I think that's why

072we're all here thank you thank you very much Lisa sure and Tallulah brand my name is Lisa sure I'm a Sarasota County resident and parent of a child who's enrolled in and attends school in the district I'm here today to voice my opposition to removing the book stamp from the bookshelves of school media centers I firmly believe that each parent and I have huge respect for Mrs Euchre I believe that each parent has the right and the responsibility to determine the reading materials that they wish their child to access in the school library but they do not have the right to determine what materials that my child May access or read as most parents already know the school district maintains a database of all books available in each school's media center any parent who has

073concerns about the reading materials available to their child May flag those books that they do not wish their child to read this is a remedy which allows the complainant to exercise her parental rights while at the same time not infringing upon the rights of other parents instead we're here today to hear whether the board will remove a book from the media center curtailing the parental rights of myself and other parents when a remedy already exists that will let the Challenger exercise her parental rights to proceed with the removal of this book is a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and flies in the face of well-settled case law Which is higher than State Statute in 1982 the Supreme Court decided a board of education versus Pico in that case a school

074board had rejected the recommendations of a committee of parents and School staff that it had appointed to review certain books much like the current book challenge procedure that we have here the Court held local school boards may not remove books from school libraries simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to prescribe what shall be Orthodox in politics nationalism religion or other matters of opinion in the Pico case the court relied on the previous decision in Tinker versus Des Moines School District and stated that local schools have broad discretion but the discretion must be exercised in a manner that comports with the Transcendent imperatives of the first time Tallulah brand and Kia brand hi my name is Tallulah brand I'm a student at Booker Middle School I asked

075to be here because I think it's ridiculous for stamp to be banned considering the reason racism you want to ban a book saying racism isn't right and your reason is that this book is racist we can't start Banning books just because one person has an issue with it at this rate we won't have any books left happy Black History Month now let's ban a book saying racism is wrong thank you thank you Kia Brands and Nancy McElroy it's actually Kaya sorry that's okay I'm Kaya brand I'm a Sarasota County resident and have a child that attends a Sarasota County Middle School Banning books is censorship and against students First Amendment rights the Supreme Court has decided this very issue and concluded school officials removal of books for the purpose of restricting access to the political

076ideas or social perspectives discussed in them when that action is motivated simply by the officials just disapproval of the ideas involved was a violation of the First Amendment a parent in the district has asked that a book be removed because she finds that their CRT in that book removing one book disgusting racism doesn't make racism go away the book stamped racism anti-racism anti-racism and you tackles the difficult topics of slavery racism and how racist viewpoints have Shaped America this book has been adapted for 6 to 12th grades by award-winning and best-selling why author Jason Reynolds it covers top tough topics engaging kids that read the book to start conversations and thoughts of what they can do to combat racism since the book is a self-selected library book it doesn't fall under house bill 7 and

077can't be used as a reason to remove the book one of the biggest problems I have is one parent is trying to make the decision for what book should be available in the district's Library the parent just mentioned that her child read the book so why should she take that right again away from my child where do we draw the line and where what parents get to decide for the rest the parent was given the option to limit her child's access to the book just like every parent in the district is able to do I am perfectly capable of making the decision for my child and I definitely do not need help with that as the author Jason Reynolds once said books don't brainwash they represent ideas you have a right to disagree with those

078ideas adults aren't afraid of books they're afraid of the conversation thank you Nancy McElroy Joan what Stoughton Borough good afternoon thank you all for taking the time and Tom thank you for trying to get us three minutes um I'm a retired high school counselor but I also worked at a middle school and in elementary school it's been a long long time doing that my mother was a high school English teacher I grew up like you did I read I still read a book A Week and it's a wide variety of books and I'm not going to bore everybody too much I hope but I have a few quotes because that's what I do I research and I realize we're not talking about censorship or Banning books plural but we are talking about banning a single

079book because a single parent has decided it's inappropriate as far as age-appropriateness I think children know when it's age-appropriate if they read the book and understand it and this book was written for teens and I think teens could handle it censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance Lori Hulse Anderson there are worse crimes than burning books one of them is not reading them Joseph Brodsky any book worth Banning is a book worth reading Isaac Asimov if a public school were to remove every book because it contains one word deemed objectionable to some parent then there would be no books at all in our public libraries Peter shear Banning books gives us silence when we need speech it closes our ears when we need to listen it makes us blind when we

080need sight Stephen chopsky censorship is telling a man he can't have a stake just because a baby can't chew it Mark Twain if this nation is to be wise as well as strong if we are to achieve our destiny then we need more new ideas for more wise people reading more good books in more public libraries this is John Kennedy I'm going to thank you this Library should be open to all except the censor we must know all the facts and hear all the eternity Alternatives and listen to all the criticisms sorry I need to be fair to everyone Joan stattenberg burrow and Janice blowers ma'am I'm sorry that's very unfair to everyone else behind you if you could please let us go thank you stoutenboro I'm a retired Public School educator a teacher and

081an administrator I'm a mom a grandma and I'm an Avid Reader of many different genre a couple of points that have hit me from other comments made CRT critical race theory is not a public school subject ever taught anywhere it is a law school second year class as far as I can tell I also am noting that we have a room full of mostly white people making decisions about what is the study of racism whether it is appropriate or not um in general I think one parent doesn't have the right to prevent forty thousand other students from access to a book if you don't want to read it don't it's it's very simple I thank you very much for your time thank you very much Janice blowers and Mary Alice Mulligan hi good afternoon I'm

082Janice flowers I'm a Sarasota County resident and parent both of my kids are out of the County schools now but graduated from what was once a beautiful and hopefully will continue to be a beautiful and vibrant School District my oldest child was valedictorian of her class she went on to become a double Ivy and she consistently brought home as a part of her curriculum not as a part of self-selected but as a part of curriculum things that were difficult things that we did talk about so I'm not really here to talk about whether or not a tween version of the a book about understanding how racism operates is CRT as the prior woman said it is not critical race theory is something you will find in a graduate school program I guarantee you no one

083is teaching CRT in our middle schools we don't have the time we don't have the money we don't have the Manpower anyway um it it sounds like this didn't even violate the rule honestly it was a self-select not a curriculum so not sure why we're here but as we have been here I'm a little concerned to hear questions about well who vets the fame package it's a selection of books for public school libraries vetted by Florida media Specialists and Educators I really don't want to be here next year on a book Challenge on a Fame book we want our kids to read we want our kids to enjoy reading we we just can't be going through the libraries who's going to go through all these libraries and figure out is every single book okay that's

084that's just not what we want to spend our money and our time on thank you Mary Alice Mulligan and Marjorie Peter hi gather Mary Alice is not here uh my name is Marjorie Peter delighted to hear that so many people read the book that was my first reaction oh my God they're talking about removing a book I have to read it um I don't remember looking at the issue of race and slavery Through The Eyes of an agitated angry black person before I'm a 74 year old white grandmother I need to read more books like this I'm anxious to discuss it with my grandchildren and my issue is I certainly don't want them restricted from accessing a book I applaud the professionalism you've done your appeals but to me once the appeals have been met

085and answered through school board procedures then you're kind of at the end of the road then you're asking for opinion not based on curriculum standards you're getting close to book Banning and to me that doesn't have a good smell tread carefully thank you very much thank you Sarah Parker and Caitlin I can't read that uh Danny samets hi my name is Sarah Parker I'm the president of women's voices Southwest Florida when I go to the book of middle school students say thank you for saying uh Happy Black History Month the irony that we're sitting here discussing black books on black history month so I want to start it off with a quote from Malcolm X why when all of my ancestors are snake bin and I'm snake bin and I warn my children to avoid

086snakes what does that snake sound like accusing me of hate teaching learning black history and black children learning about their history pivots them further it's been proven and how reading books about black history helps you understand where we came from as people it helped me stay inside when everybody my age was running the streets and getting in trouble being a reader saved my life you know one of the things I read black history and my friends are white my husband's white I have mixed children it didn't make me just hate white people it made me a strong black woman and made me want to make my ancestors proud it helps me educate my friends and my family I do hear a lot of white parents talking about their white children not being able to read

087it but what about the black children not being able to read this and I just want to say this book is about generational trauma anybody in the room is listening and I am proud of my people I am proud to see my people getting further than that General their General trauma black people weren't just taken and sold they were enslaved they were raped their children were snatched from their mother's arms black backs were whipped until some of them died black people were bitten and chased down by dogs then slavery ended they were purposely not educated America didn't stop there because once they were free they were literally forced to work low wages of sharecroppers then we were given voting and that was snatched away too because they made us fear voting let's not pretend it

088was just the government it was good old white citizens does anyone know what year we're at right now going through black history during that we were allowed in the same school that children and adults do rocks Ford where were your grandparents and parents during segregation what did they do were you allowed to be a person of color home to date after desegregation we faced redlining and just a quick fact did you know there's still properties on local Longboat and Lido Key that happened to Deeds that state you cannot sell but you cannot sell to black or brown people you cannot sell that property block around thank you Martha sorry Caitlyn Danny games damn it Martha maglian I'm sorry magley Keane and please correct me if I butcher your name because it seems like I'm doing

089so that's okay you did good uh my name's Katie Danny samets I'm the vice president and founder of women's voices at Southwest Florida and um so to the to the best of my understanding and Madam chair please correct me if I'm wrong I don't know if we can dialogue but it sounds like this book is not a part of any curriculum that's being taught um the challenge is to ensure that the schools can't carry a single copy of this book that a student could happen to come upon in the library and check out and if they want to check it out and their parents don't want them to there's a system in place to keep them from checking that book out is is that correct oh I'm okay well if if that is correct I

090I don't fully understand what we're doing here um this seems like a non-issue and it just it's it's it seems like censorship it sounds like instead of parents wanting to be actively engaged in what their children are reading they just want to eradicate any other perspective from public education other than their own and it sounds a lot like 1933's Germany and that scares me I would love to Echo the sentiments of every incredible speaker that has come before me today to bring up every single point that can't be ignored and for those that haven't read the book I'd like to just read a couple segments that is what it truly means to think as an anti-racist to think that there's nothing wrong with black people and to think that racial groups are equal there are

091lazy and unwise and harmful individuals of African ancestry and there are lazy and unwise and harmful individuals of European interest ancestry no racial group has ever had a monopoly on any type of human trait or Gene not now not never that doesn't seem like indoctrination that seems like common sense and uh just for the record on record Governor desantis's lawyer team defined woke as the belief that there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them and that doesn't sound like a radical agenda that sounds like being a good person so with that please don't ban this book Thank you Martha maglie Kane Cynthia Smith how'd I do on that last name did I get it thank you okay obviously for my t-shirt I have the same viewpoints as most of the

092other speakers here today I'm also a 74 year old grandmother I have two granddaughters who one will soon graduate um I will say that she was accepted at new college and um won't be attending because of what's going on there this book I keep hearing one-sided this is a one-sided opinion piece and I felt when I read it it was full of inconvenient truths and Truth nonetheless um we cannot start Banning books I find it terrifying just the idea of banning books as was said Mrs ucker's child has read this book so I don't understand why that why like she said why this is even being discussed if her child's read it why can't my child if I had one still in school why can't my junior year granddaughter read it I will buy it

093for her and suggest that she read it because it is excellent um I I just please don't start this process of banning books because I think I I really appreciated what Mr Duggan said um that this book doesn't get to the bias and introduction indoctrination level um and I also wonder is this decision made just by the members of the school board that's the those are the only votes that go towards the Banning of this book okay that's scary um and when will this decision be made when will we don't normally go back and forth but we are making a decision but we conclude today at two o'clock okay thank you uh Cynthia Smith Elizabeth Barker okay my name's Cynthia Smith I've had um kids in the school system since 2006 we actually moved to

094this County in 2004 for the schools two of my girls have now graduated from Venice High go Indians and I now have a second grader I've been mostly satisfied with my public school experience over the last however many years and have experienced a lot of different perspectives I'm me I have my own values I have the things that I teach my kids I know when I take send them to school they're going to be exposed to things that I may not always agree with two things that I've experienced over this course of uh since they've been in school in 2009 my then Elementary School daughter had to sign a permission slip to view Obama's back to school speech not to opt out but to actually view it and that was in 2009 and then this

095notably this year this fall my second grader I went to a program after school they worked really hard they sang a lot of songs and one of those songs was I'm proud to be an American very religious undertones I'm not religious I didn't care my daughter had fun she was learning about different things so with that being said our school system provides a way for parents to challenge books but give them the option to put certain titles on a do not checkout list the book being challenged today is not used as educational or instructional material is adapted for our teenagers by Jason Reynolds a renowned Ambassador for young people's literature it is merely one book amongst thousands available through our public schools to public school students to satisfy their curiosity and expand their knowledge our

096school libraries are not our classrooms our classrooms are governed by legislation but our library should be a safe place for people to learn and grow and find different ideas any parent can censor what their child checks out based on their due diligence and according to my parental rights my children are allowed to outside of classroom or educational experience have exposure and access to different perspectives thank you thank you very much Elizabeth Barker Christine herbing herbig hi there I'm Liz Barker and I'm the parent of four children sixth grader fourth grader first grader and a preschooler and all of them are in Sarasota County Public Schools so I you know invested um and we did choose this District to live in because of the schools so you know so far we appreciate the quality of Education

097um but I am here to ask the school board to protect my parental rights to choose the books that my children read and that they have a continued access to a wide variety of written material at school you know I certainly respect Miss Euchre you're coming forward and your concerns and as a fellow parent I love that engagement um and I would love to dialogue with you sometime about it we seem like kindred spirits but um you know I just hope that people will respect my parental rights too to choose what's right for my children um and in this case you know we went through the process it does not violate any law it doesn't it it there's certainly nothing pornographic about it it's age-appropriate um I did read the book cover to cover I

098read um the concerns and I read the committee decisions um and I have to I agree with the committee I would like my child to have access to this book um and I think the main thing I want to say is that our country was founded on principles of diversity of opinion Freedom of Information they're cornerstones of our democracy our founding fathers established our government based on the ideal of unity in diversity e pluribus unum like back from the very beginning you know respecting parents and their choices should never infringe on someone else's choices so Banning a book for all students based on one person's preference really does fly in the face of our democratic ideals and I I hope you don't thank you very much Christine hervig and Rebecca McConnell hi I'm a retired

099public librarian and this is of course I'm concerned about this I'm going to read a statement from the Florida Library association's freedom to read we support parents rights to choose materials for their own children and this right extends to all parents one parent may not infringe on another parent's right to determine which Library materials are appropriate or beneficial for their children we encourage parents to cooperatively select materials for their children and we welcome just or who were and they are welcome to seek help from Librarians or Library professionals when choosing Library materials when I grew up here in Sarasota segregation was just a fact of life and we were socialized to accept it and expect it and blacks were socialized to always consider white comfort and sometimes considering that was a matter of life or

100death for them to look down or to step off the sidewalk thank God that's improved I am very concerned being a lifelong Floridian with the way that DeSantis is politicizing education and history and using our children as pollens in his pursuit of power and I think that um being able to say that this something was legislated or this is this is what the law is when we have people who are using the legislative process to manipulate um to to pursue goals that um are personal and political and not for the good of all people in the State uh is very wrong and I'm hoping that you don't consider it um Banning this book everybody needs to read it and the more reading the kids do the better for all of us thank you very much

101thank you very much Rebecca McConnell David Ford that hi I'm a lifelong Avid Reader in junior high I read The Diary of Anne Frank a book that was written from one-sided perspective I also read books about slavery murder mysteries stories on Abduction the King James Bible and even Helter Skelter a book about the Manson family murders in junior high I've not committed any horrific crimes I don't have any immense feelings of guilt on behalf of my race only empathy and despite my varied and interests and sometimes gruesome content I've turned out to be a thriving and functional member of society I have a bachelor's degree and I also have an MBA I own multiple businesses and I have two children currently in public school in Sarasota County one of which goes to Venice Middle I

102send my kids to public school because I trust that the Educators have been trained to understand the learning needs and the desires of the kids along with what is appropriate the book has already undergone a thorough review by these trained Educators let's trust their judgment and Trust the process who is this person that has decided that my child should not be allowed to read the book even after her child has written or written excuse me read it what are your credentials why do you feel the need to impose your will on me and my children and all the other children in the county why isn't it enough that your child's not allowed to read it some of the board members here ran on a platform of parental rights I am a parent respect my rights

103respect that our educators are doing their jobs we trust these people to defend our children during school shooting we should trust that they have the educational degrees and wherewithal to understand that this book is just fine in our schools book Banning is not okay and it is an incredibly slippery slope finally what are we doing here in the middle of the day on a Tuesday if I didn't own my own businesses I couldn't take off the four hours driving from Venice an hour each way that it takes for me to be here to talk about this there's a lot of people here and a lot of people that are already here that don't agree with Banning this book but there are a lot of people that weren't able to make it thank you thank you

104so much next David Ford and that will be the last speaker my name is David Ford and I'm a resident of Sarasota County we've already heard that it's basically been settled legally academically you have an awesome responsibility for the freedom and liberty of the parents of this County the state Prides itself on freedom and liberty you can send a strong message that you support parents freedom and liberty to choose what is correct and appropriate for their children I hope that you will send that message loud and clear that this book will be in the Sarasota County's school system thank you and I really hope you make that decision thank you very much that concludes the hearing of citizens the next item on the agenda is a motion is there a motion from the board regarding

105the challenge material we have to leave today with a with some kind of action so I will entertain a motion by a member of this board Mr Enos I move to go ahead and leave the book in place from use the representation that we had at the middle school I believe it the motion would be is to leave it currently as what is in place that we currently have as a standard using the recommendation of both of the Committees in regarding to the age appropriateness I have a motion to maintain the current standing of the book with no additional changes is there a second sorry I'm summarizing for the is that is that an accurate I don't want to make your motion for you so there I have a motion is there a second second

106I have a motion and a second on the floor um are there any comments uh I miss Zucker I really respect the fact that you utilized uh the process that is in place and you used it professionally and correctly and for that I commend you uh for the policy that we have in place that has that system in place I think that's a problem because um I was opposed to that process from the beginning because um when a parent objects to a particular book the ability to have that child or even quite frankly an instruction if it's connected to instruction if a parent objects to a particular lesson plan they can object to that and an alternative is presented and it doesn't affect the whole class it doesn't affect 46 000 students it doesn't affect

107all of what I really perceive to be individual freedom that the parents have the right the individual Freedom right to make those choices for their children and that another parent doesn't have the the right to impose their views on that uh that educational outcome for the other uh student so I'm I'm a but we live in a time where the culture wars have impacted and one other thing the good part of that is what I loved is um at the school level you did engage a really healthy conversation about taking it from eighth grade or from sixth grade to eighth grade so there's got to be a forum where people with opposing views can sit down and have healthy discussions that don't really impact or have to go through this process which is time consuming

108and expensive um I love that Mrs Marinelli mentioned age-appropriateness because I'm gonna use your Rob your uh the sevens they're they're kind of confusing but in the in the I think it's 1467. um I don't I don't agree that we should have be having sexual orientation conversations in K through three that's wrong I've never even heard that that happened I asked that question a thousand times from Sunday and I never got a real response that that happened but then they slipped in that age-appropriate conversation and as per Mrs Marinelli Mr Manoogian it's very gray no one can Define what that means and therefore what we have are School teachers who aren't using School libraries they're aren't using their classroom libraries they're afraid to discuss sexual orientation because they're afraid they're going to be sued and

109at the end of the day which is what I have been saying all along it comes back to impact the student and to what I heard today the love of reading we heard it all over the place from adults to children that spoke and so I think that we need to be very cautious and to make sure that our legislature legislators know that these bills that were passed are having an adverse impact on our student outcomes and and I appreciate all of you here making sure that this board knew your feelings thank you thank you Mrs Marinelli thank you madam chair I do respect all parents and their rights I am not for book banning at all but as a constitutional state officer if indeed we were violating the law that I would have to

110follow the law but according to our attorney we are not so as far as I'm concerned the book stays in our library I personally would like to follow what the school decision was but it's not up to my personal feelings they recommended it before eighth grade that I think is appropriate but I represent everyone so that's why I agree with the motion and I would not be in favor of banning the book as it stands now with the way the state law is but I am not in favor of banning books and I don't like that it has come up here but I do appreciate the process and I do appreciate everybody that put all the time into the process because right now that's the best we have and we have our professionals making the

111recommendations thank you thank you are there any additional comments um so I'll go I am so I again I appreciate the process and I respect the fact that um you know I think about we have we have thousands and thousands upon books um and the process is such that I think it affords one again healthy debate and I think this is this is very refreshing it feels like it's been a really long time since there's been civil discussion um with different impassionate opinions um but I also think there is an opportunity that if if there is a member of the community or a parent that has some concern there is a mechanism and and that goes on all sides that that there could be something that was brought forward that raises an alarm and there

112is now a vehicle for someone it always has been for someone to bring that forward and I shouldn't say always has been but for as long as I've been here and quite before that I do think that um it's important to note that it is seldomly um utilized um I think all of us as we prepared for this meeting were you know even to the timing of it is to make sure we afford enough time but we haven't been through it so it's not abused I think that's the other part at least that I have witnessed and um and this past year again and I'll speak from my personal experience you know there are certain books that other districts have had that I um that I believe largely from a grand scale not just Bridget

113Ziegler but many many people of all different backgrounds and ideologies or what have you have been in other districts not ours and and um I believe there's a strong backlash about that I'm happy that that has not taken place in our school district and I want to applaud and I think that goes to a lot of the professionals that do very great work in Sarasota County Schools um but I think of that as an example um and in the event that was made itself into our district there is a mechanism for that to be challenged and I don't want to remove that and I want it to be removed for anybody and there is a vetting process at the district level I'm sorry at the school level the district level and yes that would have

114implications across the board and so I do understand that concern and hesitation from other families of saying wait I don't I don't want my child to not have access to this and so when I look at this I think first you know the word book Banning and censorship and what have you book Banning I think it's overused and it's an emotional word and nobody wants to be a part of book Banning um but I do take the responsibility that we are tasked with with you know recognizing we serve a diverse Community with a myriad of backgrounds and different viewpoints and political backgrounds and religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds and being respectful to that in a K-12 environment where we are um tasked with the incredible responsibility of educating children that are minor children versus a

115public library where it's not specifically narrowly tailored to students and that does create a challenge and so trying to cut tow that line where you're not limiting things but you're trying to be respectful of the age-appropriateness not making sure that there's a lot of access to to a wide variety of content material but also aligning it to an age-appropriate matter and and then what do we do when it's a it's a complex subject matter is mentioned here and I read it I mean it's a heavy book it's I mean it and I think it did it was very enlightening um and the question is that when we're talking about particularly Middle School um and I would defer to my colleague who is was an administrator of middle school for years and um I don't yet

116have middle schoolers I'm I feel like it's fast approaching I'm terrified but um but I know that that's a challenging time and that's a very impressionable time for children and so but again not wanting to hamper and keep that access I always think of it and it's interesting we talk about parental rights I I certainly talk about it all the time and this is a great example of where we how how can we Empower all parents and assure that they have a seat at the table because I don't I want to make sure that that's the case one parent's decision should not supersede another parent's decision I've always said that um and and then yeah we have the ultimate responsibility of Towing that line and putting guy you know guard rails in place in my

117mind when it's something like this one one of my question was is this is eighth grade appropriate and do we have the right mechanisms in place or do we bump it up to high school because I absolutely think from a critical thinking component as they are developing Minds at that stage I hope that they're able and capable to to handle complex topics but I also respect that there are different families that want to have different conversations but when we're talking about Middle School you know the access limiting the access only to eighth grade is that the right place for it or do we bump it up to high school alternatively one thing that Mr runoff and I I brought up was in general for all books that may solve some issues here would be to

118have a notification process to alert parents but anytime at every grade no matter what the book to alert parents that they have checked out a book I think that there's multitude of benefits from an academic standpoint as a parent who is busy sometimes you don't know you can engage in that discussion and it allows for parents to be more involved which we all know is valuable in the event the parent does not want that book to be read then they have an opportunity there to invoke that the challenge with opt out is that's expecting every parent to have read every single book in a library and that's just not a very reasonable rational thing so in my mind this is allowing and empowering parents more I think that we do have an obligation to flag

119a book in the proper way so that parents can decide if we maintain where it is today day so my request would be to amend this to require parental consent at the time of checking out the book but it remain accessible to eighth grade that would be my motion to amend if there's a second second if I have a motion and a second to amend the motion that it would add a parental consent notice in order for a student to check out this book as it remains are there any comments yes go Mrs Rose um quite complex and thank you for recognizing 14 years of middle school and I did it was very codependent on the people that were on the committee and I'm still codependent on you in in what your opinion is what

120I've heard a lot today and I look at the first response from the Middle School principal which is huge for me because it's directly addressing that administrators community and and I do understand that that school-based principal administrator was on your committee as well and broadened the conversation I also looked to what was successful for 14 years as a middle school administrator and that was being cautious with sensitivity I think ultimately um you know I looked at the way that we handled it and we had the pleasure of building a system where there was a lot of communication if teachers had books in their classroom they would share what those books were what in a syllabus back to school event and there was a lot of open dialogue the world has gotten a lot more complicated

121and I try to look for what is the happy medium and when I hear the age-appropriateness that that is a hard task and brings sensitivity with it and I only have when it's all said and done as a constitutional officer legal counsel to lean on and I hear there is you know it could go either way with age-appropriateness and I think the answer has been to date that a student if they looked at it and couldn't understand it they put back put it back on the show off but I'm all said and done looking to at all parties in the sensitivity the age-appropriateness and to look at eighth grade on up keeping it on the shelf and having the opportunity for anyone in sixth or seventh to um absolutely have options to access the book

122thank you Mr Enos the reason why I went to six through twelve is that I I look at it as a the overall from the district level that um looked at the book The the school actually said eighth and then the district level administrator the team that came together actually said Sixth and up and when I look at something like this is when I want to do that is that it's impactful not just at Venice Middle School it'd be impactful at Pine if it's impactful all the way across the board no matter where you're at so ultimately I believe that when you look at the consistency Florida State statutes you look at ultimately when you when you bring everything to the light obviously people's opinions when it comes to this stuff has to be is

123the only get growth from being able to have differing of opinions without that you really don't have anything so with that being said is that's why I ultimately took the overall District recommendation of 6 through 12 again based upon the all the different students that obviously as we talk about what's age appropriate for a student that's at such and such program or at a different program ultimately that's why I looked at it as saying is it should be that level across the board based pond because it impacts just not Venice Middle School and impacts everyone thank you Mr Edwards yes thank you um I I am concerned about the amendment for a lot of reasons I I believe in parents rights I've never opposed parents rights and I think there are plenty of what has

124been said that the policy of of not allowing each parent or allowing a parent to restrict a book is the appropriate policy when you start um and I appreciate Mrs Ziegler saying that this system this process has not been abused and once again I cite Mrs euchre's engagement of the discussion which I think having a healthy discussion of opposing views is a good idea so I'm not trying to take that away but that Amendment it encourages the process even though it hasn't been abused it could become abused for what we're just seeing that anybody could challenge a book and off we go to the races and we end up back here again and it would mean that one one book needs to be notified that we're notifying a parent do we have to notify for

125350 books or 2 000 books and then the librarian and every and then we have to start trying to figure out how we get around that system I think it's I think we've all had a healthy discussion I've heard think we've all heard the opposing views and we've gotten to a place where it's comfortable to keep it the book as it is so I will not be supporting the amendment thank you um no I appreciate that and I think that especially as we look forward and I'm trying to find a balancing act of where it's not going to pre-precluded so that that as many and I've heard many of the in read many of the emails from many families not wanting um that to be limited but there are many other families that are not

126in support of that and would want that ability to chime in and say you know no I don't want this is not something I want my child to read at this time for any reason and so it's not us infringing or overstepping it's really empowering those families to make that decision um and that way it's not eliminated from the circulation it's just adding that to the next layer as certainly as I know there's a number of vetting of books in the future I don't know um yeah I know there's a lot of work with that but I think you know with where I was thinking especially as the next step is trying to engage families in a manner that will balance it and support the different decisions but also it really also helps staff kind

127of get we have a lot lots of focus and work to do at the from the instructional level so that really is putting parents in the in the driver's seat in a more of a way so that is my motion um again I'll just to restate it is to require parental um consent to check this book out while remaining still in Middle School um we have a motion in a second on the floor so we will do a Voice vote for the amendment you already had a motion in a second on the first one I mended it okay so you said well I'll take it a formal vote but um Mrs Marinelli on please clarify what we're voting oh yes so okay so there's a motion and Amendment to the motion on the floor the

128amendment is to require parental notification for this book in it uh while it remains in uh circulation at the middle school level so we're voting on The amend the amendment thank you is that clear everyone good okay Mrs Marinelli yes Mr Eno Mr I'm sorry Mr Edwards no uh Mrs Rose yes Mr Enos no uh and the chair votes I and the motion the amendment passes three to two so now the motion on the floor is to um allow the book to remain with parental notification in middle school and unless there are any additional comments we can take a vote on the final motion any other comments no okay Mrs Marinelli yes Mr Edwards yes Mrs Rose I I'm gonna have to apologize I I'm confused that's okay can you restate exactly what we're voting

129on so there was an amendment that was to require parental notification so the book stays doesn't get taken out but it would require parental notification to be checked out and that passed three to two now that becomes the main motion so that the motion ultimately is the book titled stamped racism anti-racism uh and You by Jason Reynolds and ebermax Kennedy remains in circulation in Sarasota County Schools accessible in middle school with requiring parental uh consent to be checked out foreign yes okay Mr Enos yes and the chair votes I and the motion passes five to zero and just to clarify for the record the the motion was that the book titled stamped racism anti-racism and You by Jason Reynolds and ibram X candy is to remain in Sarasota County Schools middle schools requiring parental consent

130when being checked out by a student and that is the motion I'm seeing no additional comments this uh hearing is adjourned clarification this now means that sixth and seventh graders will be included thank you ladies and gentlemen we are calling this meeting a ria re-adjourning a reconvening excuse me two o'clock it's 1 56 on February 7th 2023 to at the conclusion of the book hearing there was in my my apologies there was misunderstanding and misquoting of the recalling the motion so Mr uh Mr Duggan if you could please walk us through sure so I think the cleanest thing to do in light of the um ambiguity about what passed would be to call a motion to withdraw the previous vote and then to restate the motion in a more concise and clear way and then

131re-vote on the motion okay I I moved to recall withdraw the former motion uh from the prior meeting and that would need a second have a motion in a second to withdraw the prior motion um now I'll take a Voice vote to recall the prior vote regarding thank you the motion I'm so I moved to recall the prior vote regarding the language uh around the book titled stamps is that okay um are there any comments seeing none Mrs Marinelli Mr Edwards uh Mrs Rose Mr Enos yes and the chair votes I and the vote passes 5-0 to recall the prior vote regarding the the book stamped racism anti-racism in you now to clarify I move that the book titled stamps racism anti-racism and You by Jason Reynolds and ebramax Candy remain allowable in Sarasota County

132schools in circulation but is only allowed to be checked out upon parental consent prior to them taking that home that is my motion excuse me ladies and gentlemen this is the what what type of school Sarah's I'm sorry middle schools that's how I was well as as I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen we'll work this out thank you but it doesn't work when we have anyone yelling so um as it was stated through the committee the recommendation was for it to remain in middle school is that correct that was the recommendation of the district committee correct so my I'm adding on to that my Amendment for so is to follow the district committee's recommendation however to require parental consent for the students prior to their ability to check out the material the book and if you

133want to restate that so there's Clarity I apologize again okay so what I have is a motion to permit the book stamped that we've been talking about to remain allowable in county middle schools but to only be checked out with parental consent prior to the book being checked out by a student that would be my motion yes is there a second second now there's a motion a second Mrs Rose um I just was looking for that clarification that it will remain without parent consent students select in 9 through 12 and the book will remain in Middle School six through eight however require a parent consent for checkout clarification to legal counsel that is correct right well I mean that would be for you all to decide uh well that was the motion the motion was

134just for parental consent it was for the book to remain allowable in middle schools and but to only be checked out with parental consent prior to the student accessing the book was the prior motion if you would like to clarify that to include that it would not require parental consent in the high school level then that's fine but you would have to do that I don't think that was part of the motion that was originally made may I the committee recommendation at the district level is addressing this book correct yes 6 through 12 at the district level so there's no additional discussion about 9 through 12 in any of the of the so okay I guess the question is are you wanting to require parental consent at the middle school level or for the entire

1356 through 12 level I guess is a question that I think could be clarified as part of the motion my motion my motion was six through twelve but now that you say I mean parental it was it was through middle school okay okay um however I I entertain that conversation with board members as far as all the way through High School um right now it's my understanding that we have a motion on the table that would take the district's committee's recommendation of the book 6 through 12 and amending that to require parent consent only at Middle School six through eight so with the current Mo motion um that would indicate that there's no parent consent required for 9 through 12 that is the current motion am I correct with that translating that's my understanding of

136the current motion so if you wish well I I I'm sorry but let's just clarify the current motion before we wish anything yeah the prior motion as I jotted it down was for uh the book to remain in county middle schools but only to but to require parental consent prior to a student being able to check it out yes and so to me that leaves open you know whether that means just parental consent for Middle School parents or parental consent for six through 12 parents so I think there's room to clarify that to for the purposes of the motion agreed that's where I think all the confusion has come from so we have a motion on the table in a second there was a second yes okay sorry so a motion on a second are

137there any comments do we have Clarity on what the motion is Mr Duggan can you please repeat the motion as it is right now not what as it is right now it is right now as I understand it is a motion to uh have the book remain allowable in county middle schools but only to be checked out with parental consent prior to the student having access to the book that is the motion it has been seconded are there any comments Mr Enos can I amend the motion to state that between 9 and 12 that there would be no parental consent in regarding to taking the book out as a motion is there a second second there is a motion in a second can you please restate your motion for clarity Mr ingos there will be

138it will make them here we go between grades 9 through 12 there will be no parental uh consent for checking this book out okay so we have an amendment on the floor stating that in grades 9 through 12 the book stamped racism anti-racism in you will not require parental consent in order for grades 9 through 12 to check out the book that has been a motion in a second is that accurate as I restate it yeah so just to say the whole thing I would say it is a motion to wait we're only on the amendment okay so the that is an accurate reflection of the amendment but I think it was an incomplete statement of the entire motion no because we're only voting on the amendment so that's it so okay so it's a

139motion in a second Mr Edwards I'd like to amend the amendment to say uh that instead of um consent it becomes notification foreign you want the amendment you want to amend the amendment which was in regards to 9 through 12 that would require no parental consent you want to change it to No Parental notification I want the whole anywhere the word consent is or uh a note anywhere there's the word consent I want it changed to notification okay so Mr Enos just to clarify because we're on the amendment of the amendment now so the amendment that Mr Enos made was in reference to 9-12 only and his his uh motion to amend the his amendment was to uh require to not to not require for clarification to not a double negative not require parental consent

140for nine through twelve your motion if it just to clarify your motion was to change notification for clarity I believe you mean that on the main motion is where you would like to change it anywhere on the main motion to the amendment right so this is where we'd help if we had a parliamentarian because I know enough to get that so understood so why I but that would be so if you want to change it for the amendment on 9 through 12 restate what you want it to say for the amendment just the amendment the 9 through 12. okay so it doesn't require consent it re doesn't require notification is my change so Mr Enos is and I just I think we're getting I think what you want to do is a change on the

141main motion from consent to notification that's what I believe your intent is and so what we need to do is close out the amendment first and then you can amend the main motion yes but he's his Amendment says it doesn't require consent so you want to say it doesn't require I want it to go from the main motion through well let's do one Amendment at a time so you want to say it doesn't require I think it's going to make it confusing but well we have to do amendments to the amendment so we're talking you're amending his you're amending his Amendment correct that's how it is so restate what you want it to be now that we can vote on it because I have to close out that one before we go to this that

142it doesn't require consent or notification so the motion would stay in the in the pot in the affirmative say exactly we want how do you want it to say in what grades please 9 through 12 right I'm not going to start language because it's going to mess up yeah and I'm doing my best to follow so as I understand we have right now A I'm going to talk about the motion the First Amendment and the Second Amendment to make sure and I think we need to address the First Amendment first right before we get to the Second Amendment right well you have to deal with his he had made a motion to amend the amendment so now we are on the amendment As I understood the amended Amendment state this uh it is a motion

143for the book to remain allowable in Middle Schools and High School 6-12 uh with in the Middle School level to be checked out based on Parental notification and from 9 to 12 to not be require parental notification or consent okay so can I tell you how to do that you would say we're not doing this in the right problem but I'm not like I'm not a parliamentarian but that's not you have to close out the amendment that's what I think I understand where you're going so if you want it to say your amendment I just want to make sure because we're going to end up around again um his right now Tim has a motion an amendment that says that will clarify that there is no parental consent required for 9 through 12. you want

144to change that there is no uh parental notification required for 9 through 12. I want to say consent or notification so your amendment is to say consent or notification in grades 9 through 12. yes okay is there a second to that motion to his Amendment second okay I have a motion in a second and two would you like to restate it just to or do you want me to I just want to make sure so the amendment to the amendment is such that there's a motion a second that there is no uh that grades 9 through 12 are no sorry that parental notification or consent is not required for the book stamped racism anti-racism in you and I've uh in grades nine through twelve that is the motion it has been seconded by Mr Enos

145are there any comments is everyone clear okay Mrs Marinelli Voice vote on the amendment to the amendment yes okay Mr Edwards yes Mrs Rose yes Mr Enos yes and the chair votes no and the motion the amendment to the amendment passes for to one now we are on the initial Amendment which is basically what Tom just said so the uh the polit the amendment is now um that the book stamped does not require parental notification or consent in grades 9 through 12. so then the main motion Mr Duggan if you can now re-read that back but we would have to I believe we'd have to vote on the amendment now in totality even though it's a duplication but okay so as I understand it that the book stamps that we've been talking about shall remain

146allowable in County I guess middle schools and high schools grades 6 through 12 requiring parental consent for grades six through eight and not requiring parental consent or notification for grades 9 through 12. correct now I'm sorry we have to close out on his Amendment so basically restating almost a duplication of the vote so we have an amendment now that's closed out for the amendment so we have to take a Voice vote for the add edition of uh on the onto the main motion uh that there is no parental notification or consent um for grades 9 through 12 for stamps that's the final Amendment so Mrs Marinelli yes Mr Edwards am I am I in middle school or High School you are in high school we're closing out his his initial Amendment as now amended so

147now everyone's voting does that go to the main motion that's where we're at yes Mrs Rose yes Mr Enos yes and the chair votes no and the motion passes to add that clarification that no parental notification or consent is required in grades 9 through 12 in Sarasota County Schools when they check out the book stamped racism anti anti-racism and you the motion passed four two one now we are on the final main motion Mr Duggan can you please repeat the total motion now sure it is as amended and amended I believe um it is a motion for the book stamped to remain allowable in county middle and high schools from grades 6 through 12 but requiring parental consent from grade 6 through 8 but not requiring parental consent or notification for grades 9 through 12.

148very good is there any questions or comments Mr Edwards I'd like to amend the motion to say that uh it doesn't require requires notification not consent for Middle School I have a motion to change consent to notification uh for grade six for middle schools grade three six through eight is there a second uh there is a motion on the floor is there a second and your your Amendment dies to no second so now we are back to the main motion are there any questions or comments please repeat the main motion just thank you all right so it is a motion for the book stamped to remain allowable in middle schools and high schools grades 6 through 12 requiring parental consent for grades six through eight but not requiring parental consent or notification for grades 9

149through 12. very good any more comments questions okay we will take a Voice vote and thank you again for everyone's patience Mrs Marinelli yes Mr Edwards no Mrs Rose yes Mr Enos yes and the chair votes no and the motion passes three to two and two clarify the uh book stamped entitled stamped racism anti-racism and You by Jason Reynolds and ibram X candy is allowable shall shall remain allowable in circulation in Sarasota County's middle schools under with parental consents and allowable in Sarasota County high schools without parental consent and notification Mr Edward Mr Duggan can you just repeat that one more time just to make sure everyone's clear before I adjourn give me one second okay so the motion passed three to two and the result of that motion is that the book will remain

150allowable in middle and high schools grades 6 to 12 requiring parental consent for grades six through eight but not requiring parental consent or notification for uh grades 9 through 12. very good all right see no additional comments and I appreciate the opportunity to clarify and get it right so we didn't have to come back for any more confusion thank you members for your patience and members of the community we are adjourned