Duval School Board Silences Parents Reading Library Book About Dad Raping Young Daughter
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA — The Duval County School Board silenced local parents while they were trying to draw attention to a sexually explicit book available to students in their school library.
Ironically, those parents got exactly what they wanted, as a new state policy requires each copy of the book now will now be removed from schools in the district.
During the public board meeting last week, several concerned parents alerted the board that a sexually explicit book is accessible to students in at least eight school libraries within the district.
The book, Ellen Hopkins’ Identical, is about two identical twins – one of whom envies her sister because she has attracted the sexual interest of her father. Parents read passages from Identical that included graphic descriptions of the father abusing his 9-year-old daughter.
READ MORE: Florida Mom Who Challenged Graphic Rape Book Says Reviewers Didn’t Even Read Her Complaint
“There’s still this crass material in the school libraries that most likely violates state law,” Joey Marmo, a father, told the board before he began reading. “Unfortunately, I have to continue the reading of this material, which is highly, highly offensive for minors.”
Marmo then proceeded to read direct quotations from the book. Moments later, he was interrupted by board chair Kelly Coker and general counsel Ray Poole.
“I can’t cut it off,” Coker said of the podium microphone. “Sir, we’ve asked you to stop. We get the point.”
When Marmo asked about his First Amendment rights, Poole responded: “You do not have a First Amendment right to read whatever you want. We’ve asked you to stop.”
Marmo fired back: “Then why are the kids allowed to read it?”
Eventually, Marmo’s mic was muted, but he continued reading aloud from the book. Poole then ordered a police officer nearby to remove Marmo from the podium.
After other parents at the meeting objected to Marmo getting thrown out, Coker explained her reasoning.
“We do want to make sure, for those people watching that didn’t know about this coming on, that parents are able to protect their children,” the board chair said.
Coker also interrupted Lori Crunden while the concerned mother was reading portions of Identical. Unlike Marmo, Cruden stopped reading direct quotes from the book after the interruption and proceeded to summarize the book using more sanitized descriptions.
A new Florida law passed during the 2023 Legislative Session grants parents the right to read aloud any book in a school library within the district. If the board refuses to permit the book from being read, the district is then required to ban the book from every school in the district.
Thus, the district will now have to remove all copies of Identical in school libraries. A similar incident occurred at an Indian River Public Schools board meeting in August.
“KIDS ARE NOT ADULTS”
Another speaker named Sherry Goddard argued that the district’s “adult” content warning for the book is not sufficient for protecting children from the lasting damage such graphic content can deliver.
“Last time I checked, kids in schools are not adults so why do we have them in our libraries,” Goddard asked.
Goddard shared a personal story about how, as a young teen, she was scarred after she read portions of a book that described bestiality.
“I had no idea that dark things like that could happen,” she said. “It left a huge impact on me, obviously, because I can still remember – almost 50 years later – how it made me feel. I imagine an innocent teen finding Identical may feel like I did.”