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Public commenters press Escambia school board over book removals, seek ICE guidelines and ESE fixes
Summary
At the Nov. 18 organizational meeting, members of the public criticized recent media‑center material removals and book bans, urged the board to issue written guidance for interactions with ICE, and described severe behavioral and paperwork problems in ESE pre‑K classrooms. Several items including media center material removals were approved by the board 5‑0.
Public comments at the Nov. 18 Escambia County School Board meeting centered on three recurring concerns: recent media‑center material removals the public calls “book bans,” the district’s lack of written guidance for staff when immigration officials visit campuses, and staffing and paperwork burdens in special‑education pre‑K programs.
Speakers said the board’s recent removal of materials lacked local review. Linda Fussell told the board, “Over 200 books will be presented tonight by the superintendent as proof that he is following the June decision made by this board to take other county's words for it and ban those books from Escambia County Schools without review” and argued many removals had “absolutely no challenge” before being removed. Rick Barnes, a candidate for the Florida…
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