News
By Judge John Marshall Meisburg, Jr., 1-2-25
Christians of Nassau County have taken action against the pornographic books in the public school libraries of our county. Sixty (60) sexually explicit books identified by a local conservative group, Citizens Defending Freedom, have now been objected to and removed from the schools pending review by a Review Committee of the Nassau County Public Schools. In the first such hearing, last week, the Review Committee voted 6 to 1 remove one book permanently from the school libraries due to its pornographic content.
Florida law (Statute 1006.28(2)(b)) requires the Board of Education in each county to remove any book or material from their libraries which is sexually explicit or pornographic. School policy provides that parents of students in the public schools can object in writing to any number of books. Citizens of Nassau County who are not parents of students can object to only one book per month. An objection can be filed with an email to Assistant Superintendent Durham. Then, Mr. Durham will respond to the email with a form that must be completed, stating the reasons for the objection, and/or the excerpts from the book that are pornographic or objectionable.
A Review Committee then holds a hearing about the book, and votes to remove it or not. If they do not remove the book, the person objecting can appeal to the Board of Education, and if necessary to the Superintendent and even to the State Board of Education in Tallahassee. Last week, a parent of a county school student objected to 25 pornographic books, bringing the total objected to to 60.
A criminal referral has also been filed with the Nassau County State Attorney Melissa Nelson regarding the pornographic books. While parents and citizens may object to books, under Florida law, the Librarians/media specialists, Principals, Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools all have an affirmative duty to remove pornographic books from the school libraires. The criminal referral to the State Attorney alleged that the placement of sexually explicit and pornographic books in the public school libraries of Nassau County constitute criminal child abuse which is a felony under Florida statutes 10006.40(3)(d)(i);1006.28(2)(a)(b); 847.012; 827.03(1)(b)(2) and (2)(c) and 827.03(2)(C). The Nassau County State Attorney is now investigating this matter.
A link to the 60 pornographic books objected to is found below. https://www.counties.citizensdefendingfreedom.com/fl-nassau/resources/1141-2/
(editor’s note: this link is not working correctly due to an error in the site it directs you to. Site owner is attempting to fix it.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR- JUDGE JOHN MARSHALL MEISBURG JR.
Judge John Marshall Meisburg, Jr., was a U.S. Administrative Law Judge with the Social Security Administration for 26 years in Jacksonville, Florida. He retired as a judge in 2021 and is now practicing law in Fernandina Beach. He has been married for 44 years to Dr. Denise Meisburg, a Christian counselor. They have six children and 11 grandchildren. Prior to being a judge, he was a lawyer with the Federal government for 23 years, serving in all three branches of the government, with the U.S. District Court, EEOC, Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., U.S. House of Representatives, Office of Special Counsel and FDIC. He was in the private law practice one year in Washington, D.C. and filed the lawsuit that became the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case on sexual harassment. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky, and a Juris Doctor law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He is a member of the Bar of Florida and Kentucky. He is a lifelong Christian, being raised in the Baptist faith in Louisville, Kentucky. He was an Elder at New Life Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville where he taught Sunday School, the Jewish Roots of the Faith and the Christian Heritage of America. He was a leader of both the National Day of Prayer and the House of Prayer in Jacksonville for over ten years. He has published 12 books relating to Christian and legal issues. He is now a member of Living Waters World Outreach Center in Fernandina Beach, where he serves in the prayer and home group ministry, and is a member of the Board of Directors for Faith Christian Academy. He is now an Honored Listee in the Marquis Who’s Who in America.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida
