Ron DeSantis's Florida Board of Education bowdlerizes Shakespeare

 

Headline:  AP News, 8/8/2023

Several Shakespeare plays use suggestive puns and innuendo, and it is implied that the protagonists have had premarital sex in “Romeo and Juliet.” Shakespeare’s books will be available for checkout at media centers at schools, said the district, which covers the Tampa area.\ 

“First and foremost, we have not excluded Shakespeare from our high school curriculum. Students will still have the physical books to read excerpts in class,” the statement said. “Curriculum guides are continually reviewed and refined throughout the year to align with state standards and current law.” 

The decision in Tampa is the latest fallout from laws passed by Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature and championed by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis over the past two years. The first law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics, was passed last year and prohibited classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in lower grades.  [emphasis added]

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