Dictionaries Are REJECTED Under New Law
(NewsReady.com) – The Sarasota County School District paused all of the purchases and donations of books before students headed back to their Florida classrooms. The decision came after a new law went into effect on July 1, which led to the rejection of a longtime donor.
For almost 15 years, the Venice Suncoast Rotary Club has partnered with the Dictionary Project and donated dictionaries to elementary schools in the county. The group has given the local educational institutions about 4,000 books in that time, roughly 300 annually. However, this year, the district turned them down.
Gar Reese, a member of the club, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that the organization reached out to school principals over the summer to find out if they could donate books. They were told to reach out to the district, and when they did, officials said the contributions would have to wait until January.
I don’t even know where to begin.
Sarasota County School District rejects donated dictionaries amid book freeze https://t.co/IoxKv0ewxY via @HeraldTribune
— Jennifer Orsi (@Jenorsi) August 19, 2022
Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed HB 1467 into law. The legislation requires all purchases and donations to go through someone with an educational media specialist certificate. Sarasota officials have asked the Florida Department of Education for more guidance before they accept any new material, including dictionaries.
What do you think about the decision to reject the books?
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