A book about late Afro-Puerto Rican MLB legend Roberto Clemente, which has been withdrawn from public schools in Florida’s Duval County pending review for its references to racism and discrimination, has been approved for student use.
Jonah Winter’s “Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates” and illustrated by Raúl Colón was among the more than 1.5 million titles that had to be “covered up or stored and suspended for student use” in the Pittsburgh Public School District. Duval County while it was determined whether those books complied with state law, according to Chief Academic Officer Paula Renfro.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed laws last year requiring schools to rely on certified media specialists to approve which books could be integrated into classrooms. Guidance was provided to schools in December on how this would be implemented.
Books must align with state standards, such as not teaching K-3 students about gender identity and sexual orientation; not teaching critical race theory, which examines systemic racism in American society, in public elementary schools; and not including references to pornography and discrimination as defined by the state, according to the school district.
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