Brian Covey, a substitute teacher who posted a viral video last month showing rows of empty bookshelves at the Mandarin Middle School library has been fired.
In a statement, Duval County Public Schools said Covey’s video was not an accurate representation of the books available to students at the library and that he violated the school’s policy on the use of cell phone and social media.
“In discussion between the district and ESS regarding this individual’s misrepresentation of the books available to students in the school’s library and the disruption this misrepresentation has caused, it was determined that he had violated social media and cell phone policies of his employer,” the district said, according to First Coast News. “Therefore, ESS determined these policy violations made it necessary to part ways with this individual.”
Covey’s video, posted on Jan. 27, went viral amid Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) war on books. But, Covey told Popular. info that he was not told that his video violated any policies until DeSantis was asked about it during a press conference on Tuesday and claimed it was a “fake narrative”.
Last year, DeSantis signed a controversial bill into law requiring a “certified media specialist” to determine if books available to students are appropriate. To make that determination, certified media specialists must undergo an online training developed by Florida’s department of education, according to The Guardian.
Teachers who “knowingly or unknowingly” provide access to a book that is deemed harmful to a minor would be charged with a third degree felony.
Several school districts, including Duval, urged their employees to “err on the side of caution” with this new law, which resulted in teachers and librarians removing books from shelves or covering them up until they get approval from the certified media specialists.
[Image: Twitter]
