From Policy to Prosecution: Florida Raises The Stakes for School Boards

New Attorney General and Education Department signal potential legal action over school library content

Within weeks of the Florida Legislature’s failure to pass HB 1539—a bill that sought to redefine “pornography” and “harmful to minors” by removing protections for works with literary, artistic, political, or scientific value—newly appointed Attorney General James Uthmeier launched the Office of Parental Rights (OPR). The stated goal: to “empower parents and protect children.”

According to the Attorney General, the OPR is designed as a tool for families to “seek justice” where school systems and local governments allegedly attempt to “treat,” indoctrinate, or collect data from students without parental consent. The office pledged to take on cases involving, among other things, “objectionable instructional or library materials.”

And they got to work quickly.

By the end of May, the OPR had formed a partnership with the Florida Department of Education to “protect students in Florida’s education system from unlawful abuses” and ensure that school districts “honor their obligations to protect students from harmful, abusive materials.” Uthmeier declared, “The rights of parents are non-negotiable in Florida,” and accused schools of advancing “inappropriate, politically driven” agendas.

At the June 4, 2025 State Board of Education meeting, Hillsborough County Superintendent Van Ayres was summoned to update the board on “inappropriate materials available to students in district libraries.” Commissioner Manny Diaz said Ayres’ appearance should serve as “a warning for other school districts” allowing “clearly pornographic” content to remain accessible to minors.

Following intense questioning, Ayres agreed to remove 55 books specifically flagged by state officials—without undergoing formal review. Board Member Esther Byrd suggested he fire all of his media specialists.

You can read a full account at fftrp.org.

Board Member Daniel Foganholi—who had been twice appointed and never elected to the Broward County School Board—claimed the decline in public school enrollment wasn’t due to vouchers, but to the presence of “pornographic” or inappropriate materials in school libraries. “As long as you continue to push pornographic materials… people will continue to pull their kids out of school,” he warned.

Foganholi accused “activist” school board members of pressuring superintendents to keep inappropriate books. He asked Commissioner Diaz: “What are we going to do to hold them accountable?”

Diaz responded that while FLDOE must ensure districts follow the formal book challenge process, the Attorney General’s Office could pursue criminal charges under statutes outside the Education Code—specifically F.S. 847.012, which prohibits distributing harmful material to minors, a third-degree felony.

“The attorney general has the impetus and the opportunity to enforce that statute,” Diaz said. “If a school board member is complicit… then I think the teeth of this come from the attorney general’s office.”

He issued a pointed warning: school board members and media specialists—“those individuals placing these items directly in the library”—could face prosecution if they violate the statute.

“I want to caution these individuals,” he said. “They may face action from the attorney general’s office.”

Vice Chair Ryan Petty applauded Diaz’s statement and the attorney general’s involvement, saying he hoped Uthmeier would “take the definitive action that only he can take to hold school board members accountable for this garbage in our schools.”

This marks a new, aggressive chapter in Florida’s education policy, where political appointees are using the threat of criminal prosecution to enforce ideological control over public school libraries. The message to Florida’s 350+ elected school board members is unmistakable: comply with the state’s evolving list of “harmful” materials or face legal consequences. As the Attorney General and Department of Education align to target districts and individuals, school board members should be aware that decisions once handled through professional review processes may now carry personal legal risk. The politicization of school library books has moved beyond policy—and into the realm of prosecution.