"Tampa School District Limits Shakespeare to Excerpts in Class"
In response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" laws, a school district in Hillsborough County has redesigned its curriculum guides to include only excerpts from William Shakespeare's plays instead of the full texts. The decision was made to comply with the state's prohibition on classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity. The district cited revised state standards and the goal of exposing students to a wide range of books for new state exams as additional reasons for the change. While Shakespeare's books will still be available for checkout, the move has sparked controversy and is the latest fallout from Florida's conservative legislation. In a separate case, a school district in Lake County reversed its decision to restrict access to a children's book about a male penguin couple hatching a chick after a First Amendment lawsuit was filed.