The DeSantis administration on Thursday showcased several books aimed at school children, featuring sexually explicit material, during a press conference, making it clear that parents in Florida have the right “to send their kids to school knowing that they’re going to be educated but not indoctrinated.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) used the slideshow to explain that activists continue to hijack the book approval process. While he said no one will overtly try to defend sexually explicit material being in schools, he said some attempt to create “phony narratives.” Because of that, he is directing the Department of Education to take appropriate action to deal with bad actors politicizing the process.
Some of the examples of books provided were extremely graphic, including one book titled “This Book Is Gay,” which contains “nudity, graphic discussion of sexual activity, and encouraging minors to sign up for gay sex apps,” according to the narrator of the DeSantis administration’s video.
Another, called “Gender Queer,” features “graphic depictions of sex, including masturbation.” Pages from the book include depictions of vibrators and two nude men having sex with the caption, “For years, my standard method of masturbation was stuffing a sock in the front of my pants and manipulating the bulge. This would evolve into hip thrusting while thinking of my latest gay ship.”
Another, “Let’s Talk About It,” includes “graphic depictions of genitalia, masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex, and encourages children to watch porn, use butt plugs, and send naked pictures to each other,” and the list goes on.
DeSantis explained during the press conference that parents in Florida “have a right to send their kids to school knowing that they’re going to be educated but not indoctrinated.”
“And so, we’ve provided some very robust protections for the rights of parents,” he said, explaining that parents would “bring…[the pornographic material] up to school board meetings, start reading, and the school board members would say, ‘It’s too graphic. You can’t do that at a school board meeting.’ Well, if you can’t do it at a school board meeting, why are you injecting that into school children’s classrooms?” DeSantis asked, explaining that activists will now “go and just challenge almost anything that’s not appropriate,” thereby “hijacking this process” for various reasons. Because of that, he is directing the Department of Education to “take appropriate action to deal with some of the bad actors who are intentionally depriving students of rightful education by politicizing this process.”
“If you take a position as a teacher that no books are appropriate because ‘the state is telling you this…’ first of all, that’s a lie,” DeSantis explained. “Second of all, you’re depriving students of an ability to achieve what we’re trying to do, which is give them a good education.”
“You should not be able to try to create narratives for political purposes,” he added, issuing a challenge.
“If you want to go up and defend the stuff you saw on that screen, then have the courage to do that publicly and forthrightly” instead of lying about Florida seeking to ban classics, the governor added.
Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. also spoke and made it clear that the department “will continue to set the record straight as long as it takes.”
“This process is designed to prevent activists from inserting inappropriate materials into our children’s classroom,” he added.
WATCH the full presser below:
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