Book ban sparks debate at Martin County School Board meeting

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — Nearly 100 books have been removed from Martin County School shelves and on Tuesday night parents, teachers, and community members voiced their opinions on the controversial topic.

The removal comes after new state requirements were passed in January that allows community members to challenge books.

The books that are formally challenged are then reviewed by a media specialist and a committee.

On Tuesday night, there were hours of public comment at the Martin County School Board meeting.

Some people argued that one passage shouldn't determine whether a book is deemed appropriate for students.

Liz Bernstein, a former school board candidate says she is opposed to the book ban.

"A lot of these are not banned because of sexually explicit things but because of LGBTQ or incidents of slavery and rape and that's all part of our history," said Bernstein.

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But others, like Kathy Peterson, feel there is a place for the state's new requirements and agrees with the removal of the 92 books.

"I don’t really know how many parents really understand the literary content in here," said Peterson. "These words in here I won't even repeat."

The books that were removed range from elementary school books to high school literature.

"What I am so sad about is what is done to girls, not women, girls in these books," said Peterson.

The reason the law was created back at the beginning of the year was to allow parents to have a greater say in what information their child has access to.