Thread by @JuddLegum

UPDATE: Brian Covey, a full-time substitute teacher in Duval County, Florida, was FIRED for posting a video of empty bookshelves.

This is the REAL STORY about why those shelves were empty and why Covey was let go

.@DuvalSchools told Popular.info that the empty shelves filmed by Covey used to contain fiction titles in the school's library.

All of those books were REMOVED following the passage of laws championed by @RonDeSantisFL

popular.info/p/florida-teac…

@DuvalSchools @RonDeSantisFL 3. @DuvalSchools says the books will be restored following a review by a certified media specialist, as now required by law

The only problem: Mandarin Middle School like most schools in the county, doesn't have a media specialist

4. Across Duval County, Florida, there are 54 media specialists who are now responsible for reviewing 1.6 MILLION books

If they approve the wrong book it could cost them their job -- or even result in a third-degree felony charge

popular.info/p/florida-teac…

5. Thus far, Duval County's 54 certified media specialists have reviewed and approved 6,000 books.

That means 99.725% OF THE BOOKS IN THE DUVAL COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM REMAIN INACCESSIBLE TO STUDENTS

6. Brian Covey posted the video of the empty shelves at Mandarin Middle School on January 27.

The admins at the school knew about it and said nothing to him.

Until three weeks later, when DESANTIS ACCUSED COVEY OF PROMOTING A "FAKE NARRATIVE"

Covey was fired the next day

7. DeSantis made his comments on February 14.

On February 15, Covey received a 45-second phone call saying he was terminated.

The staffing company that placed him said he violated the social media and cell phone policy.

This is the only documentation Covey has received.

8. It should be noted that Covey was not fired for promoting a FAKE NARRATIVE

He was fired for telling the truth about the availability of books in Duval County Public Schools

popular.info/p/florida-teac…

9. The "fake narrative" was being pushed by DeSantis, who claimed the vetting process for books is easy and the only books that need to be removed are ones that "99% of people realize [are] wrong"

10. That is false. In Duval County the supervisor of media specialists personally reviewed The Best Man -- an innocuous book with no sexual content but two LGBTQ characters -- and deemed it "pornography"

You can read the review yourself

popular.info/p/this-book-is…

11. Further, media specialists in Duval are also reviewing every title for compliance with the "Don't Say Gay" law and the Stop WOKE law, two ambiguous statutes limiting discussion of around race and sexual identity

12. The text of these laws apply to classroom instruction, not library books.

But the Florida Department of Education refuses to say whether the laws apply to library books or not

Counties, especially those aligned with DeSantis, are reading the laws expansively

13. Special shoutout to the "Twitter Blue" trolls in my mentions who insisted the shelves Covey filed were only empty because the library was being remodeled.

Impressive ability to just make stuff up.

I'm looking forward to your next fever dream.

popular.info/p/florida-teac…

14. If you value the FACTS about what's happening in Florida and elsewhere, please don't rely on an algorithm controlled by a right-wing billionaire.

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