Duval Schools revoked student access to the public library’s digital ebook, audio book and streaming video collections Aug. 1, documents show.
The district made the move while school systems statewide face increased scrutiny over their library collections — and the Duval School Board will vote Monday on proposed changes to its committee that reviews books challenged for inappropriate content.
Earlier this year, Duval Schools asked the Jacksonville Public Library to change the terms of their decade-old partnership, which provides public library access to all students, by ending students’ access to some digital resources.
“For the 2025–2026 school year, DCPS requested a change to the cards that removes access to Libby, Hoopla, and Kanopy. All other aspects of the partnership remain the same,” JPL spokesperson Lauren Ferro wrote in an email to Jacksonville Today.
Ferro says students can still check out physical books and access the library’s research databases.
Physical books only
Duval Schools says it asked for the change after it determined the apps don’t have a sufficient mechanism to filter appropriate content.
“The electronic book apps Hoopla and Libby are not included in the partnership agreement because they do not have reliable safeguards to ensure that students access age-appropriate, developmentally aligned content,” district spokesperson Sonya Duke-Bolden wrote in an email.
Hoopla and Libby both offer users the option of using the app in a mode designed to filter content for children. The district did not clarify what “reliable safeguards” it needed, but said students who want to use the library’s digital apps “may still use a personal or family/non-DCPS, JPL account.”
Complaints about student access to digital resources like Libby began two years ago. The district at first rebuffed criticism; then-Superintendent Dana Kriznar called the partnership “good educational practice” and said students — especially those who “do not necessarily have access to print materials at home” — benefit from it.
The partnership is formally documented through a memorandum of understanding. Records Jacksonville Today received through a public records request this week show that when the previous three-year agreement expired on July 31, the new version included a clause specifically excluding “access to JPL’s eBook, eAudio, or streaming video collections.”
Under review
On Monday, the School Board will vote on proposed changes to its policy for reviewing challenged books — a hot-button issue in recent years for Florida’s school districts. Some districts received so many challenges that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill limiting the challenges people can bring against books if they don’t have children enrolled in school.
Still, Florida leads the nation in books pulled from school collections. A Clay County father has earned international attention for the sheer volume of objections that he’s filed. In August, Duval County was criticized for removing two dozen books without a formal challenge.
Duval Schools has so far officially considered just one book challenge; the board voted 6-1 to remove the book Identical by Ellen Hopkins in April. The committee that reviewed the book recommended the district retain it — and supply copies for high school guidance offices, too.
The Board has spent the year discussing additional changes to its review policy, which it already updated in January. In May, District 1 Rep. Tony Ricardo submitted a version of the policy in which he suggested harsh penalties and possible criminal investigation for teachers, staff, administrators, vendors or volunteers found to be in violation. Most of his suggestions are not part of the final version the board will vote on.
The changes that are in the version up for a vote mostly focus on the composition of the Materials Review Committee tasked with reviewing challenged books.
As the policy currently reads, the Superintendent is tasked with appointing a group of media specialists, parents and teachers to review book challenges. If board members pass the new version of the policy, the School Board will appoint most of the members. District staff will still appoint a media specialist and an administrator, who will not vote, but each of the seven board members will each appoint a parent who will vote.
The School Board will break from its usual first-Tuesday schedule and meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, at 1701 Prudential Drive. Public comment cards will be accepted until the meeting starts.
