Thomas Caldwell-Florida school board reverses decision nixing access to children’s book about a male penguin couple

2025-05-05 16:32:38source:Flipidocategory:Markets

ORLANDO,Thomas Caldwell Fla. (AP) — Months after access to a popular children’s book about a male penguin couple hatching a chick was restricted at school libraries because of Florida’s “ Don’t Say Gay law,” a central Florida school district says it has reversed that decision.

The School Board of Lake County and Florida education officials last week asked a federal judge to toss out a First Amendment lawsuit brought by students and the authors of “And Tango Makes Three” in June. Their complaint challenged the restrictions and Florida’s new law prohibiting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.

The lawsuit is moot since age restrictions on “And Tango Makes Three” have been lifted following a Florida Department of Education memo that said the new law only applied to classroom instruction and not school libraries, according to motions filed Friday by Florida education officials and school board members of the district located outside Orlando.

The “Don’t Say Gay” law has been at the center of a fight between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running to be the 2024 GOP presidential nominee and has made the culture wars a driving force of his campaign. DeSantis and Republican lawmakers took over control of the district after Disney publicly opposed the law.

Other news Boater missing for day and a half rescued off Florida coast in half-submerged boat‘Of course’ Trump lost the 2020 election, DeSantis says after years of hedgingCoco Gauff defeats Maria Sakkari in Washington for her fourth title. Dan Evans wins the men’s final

“The Court lacks jurisdiction both because this case is moot and because plaintiffs never had standing in the first place,” Florida education officials said in their motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The school board and Florida education officials on Monday asked U.S. District Judge Brian Davis in Ocala, Florida, to postpone any further discovery until he rules on whether to dismiss the case.

Last week, the judge refused to issue a preliminary injunction that would have ruled immediately in favor of the students and authors without the need for a trial, agreeing that the question over getting access to the book was moot since the school board had lifted restrictions.

“And Tango Makes Three” recounts the true story of two male penguins who were devoted to each other at the Central Park Zoo in New York. A zookeeper who saw them building a nest and trying to incubate an egg-shaped rock gave them an egg from a different penguin pair with two eggs after they were having difficulty hatching more than one egg at a time. The chick cared for by the male penguins was named Tango.

The book is listed among the 100 most subjected to censorship efforts over the past decade, as compiled by the American Library Association.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP

More:Markets

Recommend

Stanley recalls 2.6 million mugs after dozens of customer complaints, including burn injuries

Stanley is recalling 2.6 million mugs sold in the U.S. after the company received dozens of consumer

Getting a $7,500 tax credit for an electric car will soon get a lot easier

Getting a federal tax credit for buying an electric vehicle is about to get a lot easier — or at lea

Migrants pass quickly through once impenetrable Darien jungle as governments scramble for answers

BAJO CHIQUITO, Panama (AP) — Rain-swollen rivers only briefly slowed the otherwise uninterrupted flo