Release Date: July 29, 2022
Polk County, FL – As of July 26th, Polk County parents will have the ability to decide whether their school-aged children have access to 16 books that CCDF-USA challenged that had been available in public school libraries. These books, which were all identified as explicit, age-inappropriate, and potentially in violation of several state statutes, will now only be accessible to children with parental permission via a newly adopted Opt-Out/Opt-In Policy.
The Opt-Out/Opt-In Policy decision and new process is published on the Polk County Public Schools (PCPS) website under Board Meetings, Superintendent’s Report for July 26, 2022. The new policy affirms that it is ultimately every individual parent or guardian’s right to decide whether their underage child is exposed to library books with explicit, mature, and potentially disturbing content.
Parents in Polk County and throughout the nation are beginning to recognize that their children are often exposed to shocking and age-inappropriate content that would have been unthinkable in the classrooms and school libraries just ten or fifteen years ago, often instead of literature that could educate and enrich them or help shape their character.
This decision represents a major victory for parents’ right to have a say in the manner and extent to which their children are exposed to sexually explicit and potentially traumatic materials in schools. CCDF-USA extends a warm thanks to all the parents and concerned citizens who attended this, and previous school board meetings, and made their voices heard to defend the children of Polk County.
County Citizens Defending Freedom-USA is a nonpartisan grassroots organization founded in Polk County that seeks to empower county citizens to engage in local government and hold elected officials accountable for breaches of liberty and constitutional rights.