How To Register To Vote In Brevard County Florida

Back up local journalism. Unlock unlimited digital admission to floridatoday.com. Click here and subscribe today.

At its side by side meeting on Tuesday, the Brevard County School Board will be voting on policies regarding the removal of contested books from schoolhouse libraries, the restraint of children with disabilities, and changes to the lath's controversial public speaking policy.

With debates over mask policies and other COVID-xix restrictions having largely faded to the groundwork, the board volition tackle ii problems that have begun to dominate meetings — allegations that the district is providing inappropriate materials on sexual activity and race to minors, and conflict betwixt the school board and its audience.

Critics have accused the board of using its current speaking policy to silence opposing voices, and conservative grouping Moms for Liberty has launched an effort to remove several library books containing graphic content.

Here's breakup of what'southward at stake when the board votes.

School library review

The School Board will vote on a policy that would permit the BPS to review and remove library books on a district-wide level. Currently, formal complaints about library books must come from a parent of a child from each private school, and each schoolhouse must class a review committee to examine whatever book that is flagged.

That practice would exist too cumbersome to handle a recent request by the Brevard affiliate of Moms for Liberty to remove 19 books from all BPS libraries, officials say

Under the new policy, formal requests to remove books can go through a review at the district level or at an individual school. Which route the request takes would be largely based on whether the parent wants the books removed from multiple schoolhouse libraries, just the district would brand the call, School Board Chair Misty Belford said.

Books removed from Brevard schools: Some books removed from Brevard County schools after Moms for Liberty complaints

'Don't Say Gay' law impacts classrooms: Brevard Public Schools cancels free online library, math game to comply with new state law

The 19 contested books accept undergone an breezy review process, and some schools have chosen to remove the books from their libraries, Belford said. Most of the books came under scrutiny for including graphic sexual content or sexually explicit illustrations.

The Brevard County School Board will vote on three new policies at a Tuesday evening meeting in Viera. — The Brevard Canton School Board volition vote on three new policies at a Tuesday evening coming together in Viera.

Moms for Freedom has non even so requested a formal review process. The new library book policy will come into effect immediately if the board votes in favor. It would allow Moms for Liberty to officially demand pulling remaining books from all district library shelves Tuesday nighttime.

District officials have warned that even nether the new process, it may take a year or more for BPS to review the works. They would take to convene committees, including citizen representatives for each schoolhouse board member and commune experts such as teachers and media specialists, who so must be given adequate time to fully read the materials.

Public speaking guidelines revisited

The lath volition once more vote on whether to alter its public speaking policies, which have been the cause of significant conflict between citizens and the lath. The current policy gives speakers addressing the board on non-agenda items only one infinitesimal to speak and pushes their speaking time to the end of the meeting.

Those changes were made October. 25 to control often rowdy public speaking periods that sometimes extended meetings by several hours during the pandemic. Originally, all speakers were allotted three minutes.

Under a new proposed policy, all speakers volition accost the board for an equal amount of time determined past a sliding calibration according to how many people sign upwards to address the board earlier the meeting. If in that location are x public speakers or less, each speaker shall have 3 minutes to accost the Lath. If there are eleven to twenty public speakers, each speaker will have 2 minute. In the instance of 21 or more speakers, each speaker will have i minute.

Moms for Liberty lawsuit: Moms for Liberty sues Brevard Schoolhouse Board, saying speech rules discriminate past view

Because people non addressing calendar items receive less time to speak, arguments take frequently broken out between Belford and citizens about how long they should be immune to speak whether their comments related to agenda particular.

Some of these disagreements ended in Belford cut the podium mic or asking security to escort a public speaker out of the room, though speakers accept always left the podium voluntarily after that statement.

Belford said she hopes the board will not take to amend the policy again soon.

"Nosotros've been trying to notice the happy spot," she said. "And so we'll attempt these new changes to it and run across how that goes for a while, and if necessary, so we'll revisit information technology."

Restraint of students with disabilities

Some other policy on Tuesday's agenda would ban using mechanical restraints on students with disabilities to comply with land laws.

The changes are in response to legislation passed this bound that increased protections for children with disabilities. Children with disabilities cannot be confined with mechanical restraints, the new policy states. Any restraint must exist in the all-time involvement of the educatee and the learning surroundings.

Restraints may only exist used "in emergency situations when an imminent take chances of serious injury or expiry to the educatee or others exists" according to the legislation. Other possible interventions must be exhausted showtime.

Mechanical restraints are devices that "restrict a pupil's freedom of movement."

Belford said information technology has not been the practice of the school district to use mechanical restraints. The police force does not utilize to school resource officers, who Belford says follow a different ready of guidelines

Bailey Gallion is the education reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallion at 321-242-3786 or bgallion@floridatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard School Lath to vote public speaking policy, book bans