Escambia County school leaders are weighing whether to eliminate citizen-led book review committees and replace them with a faster, administrator-run process that sends final decisions directly to the School Board. The idea, discussed at a Sept. 11 workshop, is now before the board in the form of two competing policy drafts set for first reading on Sept. 16. The choice comes as Florida districts face new requirements for how they vet and remove school library titles and as Escambia sits at the center of a closely watched federal lawsuit over book restrictions.
One draft would keep the ad hoc citizen panels that have handled challenges in recent years, while the other would retire them and instead have a small district team under the superintendent review objections, apply written criteria, and forward recommendations to the elected board for a public vote.
In addition to the two versions of this policy, the board will also take first reading of a revised version of a related policy governing how new materials are selected. That proposal would require written certifications from media specialists, ban sexually explicit content, impose grade-band limits on profanity, and mandate a searchable online catalog. It would also require that new purchases come before the board as line items with opportunities for public comment…