Open AccessEvidence for the “Slippery Slope” to Censorship: The Story from Florida and Collier County
Author(s) -
Eric C. Otto
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of intellectual freedom and privacy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2474-7459
DOI - 10.5860/jifp.v2i3-4.6481
Subject(s) - censorship , slippery slope , curriculum , value (mathematics) , ideology , law , sociology , political science , mathematics , politics , statistics
The House sponsor of Florida's 2017 HB 989 Instructional Materials law, which allows any county resident to challenge classroom and school library materials, has argued that those who anticipate his bill’s detrimental impact on science curricula “are trying to read down a slippery slope that doesn’t exist.” Tracing the genesis of HB 989 back to censorship efforts by ideologically-motivated groups in Collier County, Florida, this paper validates not only the concerns of science educators, but of all educators who value "the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction."