Florida school supervisor who called gay book 'morally damning' resigns

A Florida school supervisor who was leading her district’s morality assessment of 1.6 million books has resigned after writing multiple controversial reviews, Jacksonville Today reported.

Michelle DiBias, the Duval Schools Supervisor of Instructional Materials and Media Services, sent an email to colleagues announcing that she was quitting, the newspaper reported.

She declined comment further.

"DiBias called depictions of an adult lesbian couple in a book intended for fifth graders ‘morally damning to a student’ in a book review last spring,” JacksonvilleToday reported, citing a log of 2022 review notes it had obtained.

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“She also wrote in the review of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World that the book was ‘teaching a lifestyle contrary to the design of humanity,' and recommended it be removed from all shelves.“

"DiBias’ comments fell outside established American Library Association standards, other librarians say, and her characterization of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World was in stark contrast to peer-reviewed journals, the kind of resources that new Florida laws require district reviewers utilize in deciding what books to keep on shelves.”

Duval Schools “has received national scrutiny, and repeated criticism from Gov.Ron DeSantis, over its book review process,” the report stated, adding: “The district is assessing all 1.6 million of its books for compliance with state laws – a more extreme response than most other Florida school districts.

The rate of the review means that only about 10,000 titles are currently available to students, according to the district.

“Under Florida’s 'Don't Say Gay"' law – and ensuing state guidance – public schools have been embroiled in turmoil over what books to ban from classrooms and libraries. As Raw Story reported, for example, one school district banned “And Tango Makes Three,” an award-winning, non-sexual children’s book based on the true story of two gay male Central Park Zoo penguins who adopt an egg and raise the baby penguin as their own.