Brevard Schools book review committee set to resume soon; unclear who will be on it

While long-awaited updates to the district's book policies are set to be approved in November, it's not clear who will be on Brevard's book review committee.

In a work session this week, board members said they hope to hold a committee meeting soon after the Nov. 14 approval of the two policies, which will be updated to include language from state statute and will shift the final decision-making responsibility from committee members to the school board.

The review committee has been on hold since the end of June, when the board voted to pause the process due to new language in House Bill 1069 that impacted library books and instructional material, and what board members called harassment toward committee members.

In the interim, at least two members have quit, and the board is considering adding additional committees to speed up the process of reviewing books. As of this week, there were 31 books awaiting formal review.

Before review paused, members banned three Rupi Kaur books, while the committee under a former policy placed restrictions on two Sarah J. Maas books.

Here's what we know.

Committee: Beavers moving; Diskin quits

Prior to the June 2 committee meeting — the only meeting held under the most recent policy — board members picked one committee member each, with a media specialist chairing the committee. Board members were allowed a vote, while the media specialist was not, with board members citing concerns about creating a "conflict of interest" with media specialists.

Members included:

• Michelle Beavers, appointed by Gene Trent.

• Paul Roub, appointed by Jennifer Jenkins.

• Sheri-Lynn Diskin, appointed by Matt Susin.

• Ashley Hall, appointed by Megan Wright..

• Michael Howell, appointed by Katye Campbell

Now, Beavers and Diskin will no longer be part of the committee.

Beavers, who led the charge in getting what she believed were inappropriate books off school library shelves back in spring 2022, said she was moving to Tennessee due to "business logistics" and was disappointed that the committee never restarted.

"I think my point was made, that the committee members should not be harassed, and their fix was to make the committee a recommendation instead, with final decision on the board members," she said in an email to FLORIDA TODAY, referencing a proposed update to the policy. "This will make it easier on the next people on the committee, so I’m pleased knowing I’ve helped to protect those willing to volunteer."

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Diskin resigned from the committee in September, saying she was "disappointed by the book reconsideration process as a whole" in her resignation email.

"I recognize that, as part of this committee, we were tasked with removing inappropriate content from our libraries," she wrote in the email obtained by FLORIDA TODAY. "However, it is important to understand that many selections that came before the committee could have remained on library shelves (with restrictions if necessary) under the law."

She added that she did not feel committee members were given adequate guidance by the school board regarding the evaluation criteria, saying they had been given "a number of Florida state statutes to review at leisure" and were expected to interpret and follow them without guidance.

"I feel committee members may have participated with individual goals in mind and used the process as a platform to share their beliefs, without intent to seek a compromise," she said. "Sadly, when individuals are unwilling to 'listen' to one another, actually speak to make themselves heard rather than listen to one another, everyone loses. In this case, it is the students of Brevard County schools."

Russell Bruhn, spokesperson for the district, did not know who was on the committee as of Tuesday.

Board: concerns of harassment toward committee members

The possibility of having more than one book committee was discussed, with the goal of getting through challenged books more quickly.

Board Chair Susin and members Campbell and Jenkins were in favor of starting with multiple committee, while Trent and Wright were not.

"I would love to see the one we have get working and get going and then see how well that goes," Wright said, adding that she was concerned about adding more committees due to "backlash from the public attacking them."

Though he initially wanted to start with multiple committees, Susin flipped after hearing from Wright, saying it would be a good idea to have the first meeting with one committee and then re-evaluate.

"We come forward with the first committee for the first couple of weeks, see how that goes and then be ready to have the second committee and go," he said.

Jenkins disagreed, saying it was the board's "obligation to stop stalling the process."

"We are creating book removals, book pausing, book banning, whatever label you want to call it, through bureaucracy, and it's not right," she said.

Wright challenged this, saying no one was intentionally stalling the process. She added that Jenkins' committee member's wife had been "actively attacking the other members all over the internet."

"With that being said, I'm a little hesitant to put another one of my friends on the chopping block to get up there and be their business, their broker, I mean — it's been ridiculous, just last week, even," she said.

Roub's wife, Amy Roub, has made posts on TikTok criticizing committee members in the past. She is not a volunteer in the district.

"Criticism is not a threat," she said in a statement to FLORIDA TODAY. "Criticism is not an attack. Boycotting is not an attack. I am simply bringing awareness to the creeping fascism in my town."

Paul Roub added that Wright has not shown the same concern regarding harassment when members of Moms for Liberty or Moms for America — two conservative parental rights groups — have called him a groomer for being in favor of keeping challenged books on shelves.

"Threatening us, or accusing me of horrific things, is just fine, but criticizing Joyful Warriors won't stand?" he said.

Policy update details

Possibly the biggest change proposed under the new policies is that the book review committee would no longer be the one to make the final decision regarding whether or not a book will be pulled from BPS shelves, a decision that is set to last five years under the updated policy.

Instead, they would make a recommendation to Superintendent Mark Rendell, who would present the recommendation to the board. The board would then make a final vote based on the recommendation.

Additional changes to the updated policies — Selection and Adoption of Instructional Materials, and Instructional Materials Program — include language from HB 1069, which discusses the discontinuation of pornographic material and material that is not age-appropriate.

The policies also explain the process for residents to challenge books — again, updated under HB 1069 —  and how to appeal a decision if they do not like the district's decision regarding a challenged book.

With these new updates, books, ebooks, periodicals or videos within any part of a school, including classrooms, could come under review.

The policies also explain that the review committee should be guided by Florida statutes, and that the committee must understand the entire work they are reviewing, the appropriateness of the material for its age group, the accuracy of the material, the objectivity of the material and the "use being made" of the material.

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or [email protected]. X: @_finchwalker.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard Schools will update book policies — but who'll review them?