NAPLES, Fla. – A Florida nonprofit focused on K-12 education reform in the Sunshine State is leading a coalition of 17 organizations in a legislative effort to end a legal loophole that the state’s school districts are using to keep obscene materials in schools.
According to Florida Citizens Alliance, the so-called Miller Test is being abused by school officials who want other obscene materials to remain on bookshelves in schools. The Miller Test is a three-part test established by the Supreme Court in 1973 to determine whether material is obscene.
Florida Statute Title XLVI § 847.001 (7), a statute defining obscene materials, uses the Miller Test criteria to make such determinations. The test states that content is obscene if the material:
- Predominantly appeals to a prurient, shameful, or morbid interest;
- Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material or conduct for minors; and
- Taken as a whole, is without serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
“The problem is that Florida school districts that do not want to remove obscene materials rely on subsection (c) of the Miller Test, telling parents that the materials contain ‘serious literary value,’ and thus will remain on the shelves,” said FLCA’s Director of Policy and Advocacy Ryan Kennedy. “This is essentially a loophole allowing school districts to ignore Florida’s new book challenge law and to brush off concerned parents. We’re grateful to Governor DeSantis for addressing this issue with the 2023 law, but we want him to know that it is being actively subverted, and we want to help the governor and the legislature take action to ensure that the law’s potential is maximized.”
FLCA, along with 17 other well-known advocacy groups including Citizens Defending Freedom, Liberty Counsel Action, Moms For America and America’s Frontline Doctors, is proposing that the Florida legislators add a subsection (d) to the law clarifying that subsection (c) “does not apply in an educational setting” or to any educator at any level.
The organizations also noted in a coalition letter (linked above) that being exposed to obscene material at a young age is a serious hazard to the mental health of children. That letter cites a study that concluded that exposing children to such material “can lead to exaggerated beliefs of sexual activity among peers, sexually permissible attitudes, and sexual callousness, including more negative attitudes toward sexual partners.”
Further, a 2023 study concluded that “stress, anxiety, and depression are strongly related to pornography consumption, and conflicting emotional experiences as well as identity problems significantly enhance vulnerability to addictive sexual behavior–related pornographic experiences,”
FLCA’s Co-Founder Keith Flaugh says that momentum is on the side of coalition organizations.
“With the new administration, some obstacles that concerned parents have faced when it comes to removing obscene materials have already been torn down,” said Flaugh.
He cited Florida Statute Title XLVIII § 1006.28. That bill, which among other things required the immediate “suspension of materials alleged to contain pornography or obscene depictions of sexual conduct … pending resolution of an objection to the material,” passed through the legislature and was signed into law. A lawsuit filed against the bill was dismissed in late January, about a week after the new administration took over.
Similarly, under the last administration, an advocacy group filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education stopping the Collier County School District from removing 300 obscene books from school library shelves. That complaint, too, has been struck down under the new administration.
“Now is the time to end the insanity in our schools and have these obscene materials removed for good, and I believe that our legislative proposal is an effective step in that direction,” said Flaugh. “We’re hoping that members of the legislature will work with their constituents and with groups like ours to swiftly achieve this goal, and we look forward to working with them.”
About Florida Citizens Alliance:
Founded in 2013, Florida Citizens Alliance champions K-12 education reform in Florida. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, FLCA’s mission is to improve Florida’s K-12 education by uniting and empowering teachers, students, and parents. The three pillars of our mission are engaging local communities through our KIDS FIRST program, providing alternative education resources through our Microschool Initiative, and promoting legislative action.
