COLLER COUNTY, Fla.– In accordance with Florida House Bill 1069, the Collier County Public School District has announced that 313 pieces of literature have been removed from all grade levels, effective immediately. 

The recently passed Governor DeSantis-backed legislation prohibits sexual content from appearing in schools. 

“Ignorance doesn’t protect innocence. So, we are not protecting our children’s innocence by restricting them. We are just making them uneducated,” Amy Perwien, a Collier County Public Schools parent, said. 

“They’re Just requiring school districts to not indoctrinate our kids on things that our sexually inappropriate,” added Keith Flaugh of the grassroots political organization Florida Citizens Alliance. 

Several other books also have been taken off shelves for lower-level grades, and some now require parental permission to check out. 

“I often say, to folks that call it book banning, so … are you ok with prohibiting guns and drugs in schools? The Role of the school districts is to provide a safe environment,” Flaugh added. 

“I was shocked and surprised at how many books were on there. Also, how many classic books do we have on there? Books our students should have access to,” Perwein said. 

The book list includes:

• Classic novels.
• Print-to-screen blockbusters.
• Many books focused on gender ideology and race. 

You can see the entire list of banned books below.

“I was surprised that there are books on there my college student read while she was a student in Collier County schools. There are books on there I have read and recommended my children to read,” Perwien said. 

“It doesn’t portray an environment where the school districts are promoting sexual activity.

This is grooming kids to be sex trafficked in our public schools,” said Flaugh. 

The Collier County Public School District told ABC7 that the policy was implemented on October 25, and the reading materials have been removed.

They add that the search process is fluid, and changes can still be made.