Three years after the adoption of Florida’s Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking Standards, a new state law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), has caused some school districts to remove many written works deemed sexually explicit. Hillsborough County took this step more recently by telling teachers that they were only allowed to assign excerpts of Romeo & Juliet, rather than the entire play.
Several of Shakespeare’s works involve vulgar puns and innuendos, and in Romeo & Juliet specifically, it is suggested that the two protagonists have premarital sex.
Copies of Shakespeare’s works still will be available for checkout from school libraries.
The school district has clarified its stance in a statement: “First and foremost, we have not excluded Shakespeare from our high school curriculum. Students will still have the physical books to read excerpts in class. Curriculum guides are continually reviewed and refined throughout the year to align with state standards and current law.”
Many Florida public school teachers are upset with this change.
After learning of the new decision, Joseph Cool, a Gaither High School teacher, told the Tampa Bay Times, “I think the rest of the nation – no, the world, is laughing [at] us,” he said. “Taking Shakespeare in its entirety out because the relationship between Romeo and Juliet is somehow exploiting minors is just absurd.”
Lake County was involved in a lawsuit earlier this year when And Tango Makes Three was removed from elementary schools due to Florida’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Romeo & Juliet and And Tango Makes Three are part of a growing list of books under review in northeast Florida school districts.
DeSantis has recently been hit with widespread criticism that the new Florida high school curriculum requires teaching that slavery benefited the slaves.
