Florida school district curbs Shakespeare works in classrooms with concerns 'raunchiness' violates state law

Schools in Hillsborough County, Florida, are cutting back on Shakespeare in the classroom, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

"It was also in consideration of the law," Tanya Arja, a spokeswoman for the district said, per the report from Monday.

More specifically, the district's plan addresses concerns over state law cracking down on sexual content in public schools. Instead of reading entire works, students will read excerpts from class works like "MacBeth," "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet."

SHAKESPEARE WAS ‘CENTRAL TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHITENESS,’ UNIVERSITY SCHOLAR ARGUES

Joseph Cool, a reading teacher at Gaither High School in Hillsborough County, cited the "raunchiness" in the legendary playwright's works as cause for concern, adding, "that’s what sold tickets during his time," the Times said.

By cutting back on entire works – and thereby avoiding instruction with these "raunchier" bits – schools hope to avoid any entanglements with the state's Parental Rights in Education law, signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, last year.

The law, initially reserved for lower grades, later expanded to grades K-12. It was coined by critics as "Don't Say Gay," as the contentious measure removed discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation in public school classrooms across The Sunshine State and required instruction to be "age appropriate."

BRITISH UNIVERSITIES PUTTING ‘TRIGGER WARNINGS' ON SHAKESPEARE, GREEK TRAGEDIES FOR BEING TOO DARK

DeSantis and other state Republicans dismissed the notion, arguing the law's intentions were misrepresented.

Exceptions to crackdowns on sexual content are permitted for health lessons.

Embroiled in controversy, the law sparked districts to pull potentially inappropriate, law-violating materials from curriculum, including books with LGBTQ+ themes or sexually mature content.

The Tampa Bay Times said the Parental Rights law's restrictions led the district to go back on its previous standard that required students to read two entire novels or plays - one in the fall and one in the spring - and instead opt for a new standard of reading one entire work along with multiple excerpts from others.

FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES LAWSUIT AGAINST FLORIDA'S PARENTAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION LAW

The report also said students can access the entire works with the help of parents, though teachers are instructed to steer clear of potentially inappropriate material at school. 

When Fox News Digital reached out to Arja for comment, she reiterated that the district has not excluded Shakespeare from its curriculum and, not only will students have the books available in class, but they will also be available in school media centers.

"As state standards evolve, we adjust curriculum guides to ensure standards are supported in the classroom," she said in an email.

"This was an instructional decision to ensure our students are prepared for state assessments while also taking new state laws into consideration. We redesigned our instructional guides for teachers because of revised state standards and new state exams that will cover a variety of books and writing styles. Instead of two novels read in their entirety, students will read one full novel plus excerpts from 5-7 other novels and B.E.S.T. texts. The state's B.E.S.T. standards call for students to read a wide variety of authors, genres, styles, and literary periods. Our job is to make sure our students are exposed to all of these things in preparation for future success."

The superintendent for the district sent parents and teachers an email on Wednesday in an effort to provide clarity on the situation. 

"To be clear, we are teaching Shakespeare in a variety of ways in high schools, everything from short excerpts to full novel readings, based on the standards for the course a student takes. Shakespeare has been a foundation of our literary teaching for decades," the email stated. "This instructional plan follows state law."

The email continued, "For instance, the state implemented the B.E.S.T standards in 2022-23, which require students in high school to read multiple genres, authors, styles, and literary periods. The assessment that students will take in the spring, known as F.A.S.T, will gauge students’ comprehension from 30% of the books on Florida’s B.E.S.T. Book List. To meet those B.E.S.T. Benchmarks, many of our high school students may read one full novel in addition to excerpts from other works that cover numerous literary periods such as Classical author Homer, Renaissance author Shakespeare, and Contemporary author Bradbury within these units. The purpose of offering individual excerpts from more texts is to provide students with a broad range of materials and expand their literary knowledge. This is aligned with our pillar of Academic Excellence in our Strategic Plan."

The state of Florida remains under the media's lens for a slew of other education topics, including the state's contention with the College Board over an AP African-American Studies course and attacks against DeSantis for allegedly "banning books."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The article was updated to include the superintendent's email to parents and staff. 

For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media