Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody argued for removing certain books from schools, writing that public school libraries are “a forum for government speech,” not a “forum for free expression.”

“They’re finally saying the quiet part out loud,” Florida State House Rep. Anna Eskamani said. “Anytime Republicans scream indoctrination is happening in our schools, it’s actually a projection of what they want to see happen. In Ashley Moody’s submission to the court, she admitted she does not see public education, public institutions or schools as places for free thought but as a place to push the state’s agenda.” Eskamani is a vocal critic of book bans throughout the state.

In the filing, Moody argues for the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the nonprofit PEN America and authors and publishers of And Tango Makes Three — a children’s book about the true tale of two male penguins adopting a chick and starting a family at the Central Park Zoo — against Escambia County Schools.

The book has been a chief target for conservatives and parental rights groups aiming to remove certain books from school libraries since its release in 2005.

The lawsuit alleges Escambia County School Board violated students’ First Amendment rights based on its disagreement with ideas expressed in certain books and unconstitutionally removed books because of their LGBTQ+ themes and mention of race.

Efforts to restrict access to reading materials in schools nationwide have ramped up in recent years, with Florida leading the charge. The push is backed by a coalition of far-right political activists, Republican lawmakers and parental rights groups like Moms for Liberty who object to the alleged “woke indoctrination” of students. Books regarding gender and sexuality have been targeted more than any other material, according to PEN America.

Escambia County teacher Vicki Baggett is pushing to have more than 100 books, including And Tango Makes Three, removed from public school libraries over what she claims are “explicit sexual content, graphic language, themes, vulgarity and political pushes.” More than 200 books overall are currently being challenged in the county.

Moody argues that decisions about public school library content are protected under the First Amendmendment and therefore cannot infringe upon the free speech of others.

“And when the government speaks,” she wrote, ” it can freely select the views that it wants to express, including choosing not to speak and speaking through the removal of speech that the government disapproves.”

Lawyers on the school board’s side share this view, but the argument has drawn criticism from legal and First Amendment experts. Some cite Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s explicit warning against expanding government speech precedents. “If private speech could be passed off as government speech by simply affixing a government seal of approval, government could silence or muffle the expression of disfavored viewpoints,” Alito wrote in 2017.

There are also the Supreme Court’s rulings in cases like Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico, and Keyishian v. Board of Regents, which concluded school boards could not deny students “access to ideas” with which school board members disagreed by taking library books off shelves.

“The First Amendment is very absolute,” Eskamani said. “Here, it’s very evident that you’re violating a person’s freedom of speech and also their freedom to listen because that’s part of the First Amendment too: My right to listen to different perspectives to hear new ideas.”

Eskamani said she fears Moody’s filing could have a “ripple effect” throughout the state, with restrictive policies being enacted beyond K-12 classrooms and harsh consequences for teachers and students who violate them.

PEN America v. Escambia County School Board is scheduled to be argued in the Spring.