A coalition of the nation’s largest book publishers and authors have filed a lawsuit against Florida education officials. The plaintiffs include Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, Harper Collins, SourceBooks, and author John Green and Julia Alvarez. The suit is lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando to challenge a 2023 Florida law that increased scrutiny on school library books, alleging it unconstitutionally restricts free speech. The publishers named school board members from Orange and Volusia County school districts as defendants. The law, known as HB 1069, mandates the removal of books containing "sexual conduct" without considering the educational or artistic value of the work. It requires that any book objected to by a parent or resident be removed within five days and stay unavailable until the matter is resolved. This has led to the removal of hundreds of titles, including classics like “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, and “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank. A Florida Department of Education spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit as a “stunt,” insisting that no books have been banned but rather that inappropriate content is being kept out of schools.The lawsuit seeks to restore educators' ability to evaluate books holistically, ensuring students access a broad range of viewpoints. Recently, PEN America also filed a lawsuit against a similar law in Escambia County, underscoring the urgency of fighting unconstitutional legislation. #Students & Youth Culture