Holy Bible Returns to Florida School District’s Book Shelves After Removal for Its ‘Sexually Explicit Content’

The Holy Bible has returned to the shelves of schools in one Florida county after it was briefly removed to review for “sexually explicit content.”

The book was removed from Volusia County Schools after it received a challenge last Friday. In accordance with district protocol, the school district said it removed the book for review before finding that Florida state law protected the Bible and other religious material from being removed.

The Holy Bible was challenged by Christina Quinn who claimed that the book had “sexually explicit content.” She told FOX 35, "I wouldn’t say it’s just to prove a point. It is basically saying ‘What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,’ so we can’t pick some and not pick others when they both have similar material."

Teachers were given five days to remove the book from student access, which is in line with Florida state law, and to keep it away until the school district came to a decision. 

When students in Volusia County Schools heard that the book was removed, they created a petition to reinstate it, garnering more than 1,000 signatures.

Hannah Harger, a Spruce Creek High School junior who led the petition, told the outlet, "It was kind of shocking that they would even think about taking a historical piece of evidence for history classes or literature out of our reach and out of our curriculum."

While the decision about the Bible was not on the school board’s meeting agenda, both Quinn and Harger spoke during public comment on Tuesday. The board announced that the book would be reinstated Tuesday afternoon.

Ruben Colón, Volusia County Schools board member, said the legislature regarding reading restrictions was passed by the state legislature and therefore goes beyond their own local school board. “They’re the ones that pass the laws,” Colón told the station.

In this school year alone, Volusia County Schools said that 31 books have received objections. So far nine titles have been discontinued, six titles were deleted from library collections and 15 books are still awaiting reviews. The Holy Bible was the only book to return to school shelves without restrictions.