Judd at Popular Information: “Schools in Clay County, Florida, are withholding dozens of books from students, citing legislation that has been proposed but not approved by the state legislature or signed into law.  In a spreadsheet published by the Clay County school district listing the status of challenged books, 55 titles were categorized as “Pending Legislative Update.” A spokesperson for Clay County schools, Terri Dennis, told Popular Information that the “district is monitoring the current legislative session and stands prepared to comply with any statutory updates.” Dennis confirmed that these titles are not being made available to students. In other words, the school district is anticipating new legal restrictions and is withholding titles even though they do not run afoul of current law.  Among books that are no longer available to students in Clay County because of this action are critically-acclaimed and award-winning novels, including A Fault In Our Stars, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Story of a Girl.  The remarkable decision to remove books from shelves based on legislative proposals was made by the new Challenge Oversight Committee, a body created by the Clay County School Board on April 6. Previously, challenges were always considered by a five-person committee, known as the District Curriculum Council for Reconsideration, which included a student, a parent, and a school-based librarian. Now, the three-person Challenge Oversight Committee, comprised entirely of district administrators, is empowered to unilaterally remove books from shelves.  Under the new rules passed by the Clay County School Board, the Challenge Oversight Committee can: 1. reject a book challenge as frivolous, or 2. remove a book based on a determination that the book violates Florida’s obscenity law or another statute. Additionally, the Challenge Oversight Committee can decide to refer the challenge to the larger District Curriculum Council for Reconsideration…”