It's Not Working Part 4, What if content in a public school library VIOLATES DECENCY STANDARDS on television, cable, and even YouTube?
This is Part 4 of an ongoing series about the continuing saga of age-inappropriate books in Polk County Public Schools. Please read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 if you have not read them yet.
In this post we will discuss why content that is not allowed to be aired on television or YouTube is available to minor children in Polk County Public School libraries, as well as school systems all across the country.
For over 9 years, Polk County Public School Board meetings have been consistently livestreamed in their entirety on YouTube. That is, until September 5, 2023, when a mom stood up during the meeting to read a book containing VERY graphic and explicit sexual content. The book that was read is titled “Red Hood” by Elana K., published in 2020, and is available in some Polk County schools and accessible to minor children as young as 11 years old.
The book was called “Red Hood”, by Elana K. Arnold and was published in 2020 . This book is also accessible as an eBook for students and can be found in the school libraries at the following schools in Polk County: Haines City Senior High, Auburndale Senior High, Bartow Senior High, Davenport Senior High, Frostproof Middle-Senior, George W. Jenkins Senior High, Lake Gibson Senior High, Lake Region Senior High, Ridge Community Senior High, Tenoroc Senior High, Winter Haven Senior High.
The mom was broadcast on the livestream UNTIL she opened the cover of the book to read. The livestream was cut off for the rest of the night. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time this has happened in the nine-year history of Polk County Public Schools’ YouTube broadcasts. After the meeting ended, the entire video was pulled from YouTube. Within two days, an edited version of the meeting was posted online.
That evening, I also read a book titled “Lucky” by Alice Sebold, limiting my reading to just one paragraph. Anyone with common sense and a moral standard would understand why this book should not be accessible to minor children. However, it remains available at Lakeland Senior and Tenoroc Senior.
Take a look at this excerpt and notice the edits made. When you click on the link, please pay special attention to the police officer's eyes before watching the video. Her expression perfectly captures the shock and astonishment brought about by the content being read.
The readers each spoke for 3 minutes, we edited the video as their mouths were blurred for most of their time reading. Why would the Polk County school system have to edit a parent reading from a book that is available to minor children in ELEVEN SCHOOL libraries? Are their mouths blurred in case someone could read lips?
If you are an adult over the age of 18, take the time to watch the unedited videos below. Please be aware that the videos contain objectionable and offensive material. They are intended for adults and only for educational purposes. Please keep these videos away from the eyes of minor children and avoid indiscriminate distribution. If you are sensitive to such material and do not wish to be exposed to it, please do not watch the videos. By watching the videos or clicking on the links below, you are confirming you are not a minor and will not distribute to minors.
https://rumble.com/v3sukdr-what-is-in-polk-county-public-school-libraries-luck-by-alice-sebold.html
Both “Red Hood” and “Lucky” will be examined in later posts, but we would like you to take note of our primary concerns mentioned below:
Polk County Public Schools posted on the video "Edited due to YouTube Community Guidelines" Vulgar Language Guidelines. Sexual Content Guidelines . The guideline most likely being referred to is the Vulgar Language Guideline. However, in both speakers’ edited clips there was the participation of A MINOR CHILD, which also falls under the purview of the Sexual Content Guidelines. As per YouTube’s policy "Sexually explicit content featuring minors and content that sexually exploits minors is not allowed on YouTube. We report content containing child sexual abuse imagery to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who work with global law enforcement agencies."
Polk County Public Schools were so concerned about the content being read, they not only cut the audio, but they actually BLURRED THE MOUTHS of all individuals reading from the books. If you were present heard it, you would definitely understand the concerns.
The officer’s eyes and expression tell you a lot.
When I raised the issue with the Board that the live video feed was cut, the Board Chair, who isn’t supposed to speak during Public Comments turned her mic on and stated "That's FCC regulations...Yes, we legally have to." (Her statement was captured in the video.) I also pointed out that the FCC has no regulatory authority over YouTube. However, I was not aware at that time that the video is also broadcast on Spectrum and other cable broadcasters, which do have to adhere to FCC regulations.
The live broadcast was shut down BEFORE ONE WORD WAS READ from the first book. Let me repeat that, the live video feed was shut down BEFORE ONE WORD WAS READ. We had many people watching the. Did the person responsible for the video feed know what was in the book? The fact that the feed was cut as soon as the mom opened the book should tell you EVERYTHING you need to know. Polk County Public Schools KNOWS the content they are providing to minor children, with taxpayer dollars, does not meet the DECENCY standards set by the FCC or YouTube. Nevertheless, the presence of these books in the public school libraries indicates that they do not object to them being accessible to an 11-year old minor child.
That's worth repeating. Polk County Public Schools KNOWS the content they are providing to minor children with taxpayer dollars does not meet the DECENCY standards set by the FCC or YouTube. NEVERTHELESS, the presence of these books in the public school libraries indicates that they do not object to them being accessible to an 11-year old minor child.
To date, Polk County has not removed ANY challenged books, including those containing content that includes graphic rape, pedophilia, and bestiality which are clearly in violation of Florida State Statute 847.012.
ZERO.
CERO.
ZIP.
NADA.
零 (LING.)
NONE.
On July 22nd, following a heated exchange between Board Members during the Polk County Public School Board work session, Board Member Lisa Miller, on camera, asked Superintendent Heid if he had received her text message. We requested a copy of the message through a public records request. The text message is provided below. Lisa Miller’s text is in gray, and Superintendent Heid’s text is in green. The decision to stop the book readings was premediated and had been made several weeks in advance. If the books are acceptable for minor children, why is the Superintendent KNOWINGLY planning to discontinue the live video feed?
I can only guess, but it would appear THEY BOTH KNOW THE CONTENT IS NOT FIT TO AIR on TV or YouTube. The questions remains, why do minor children as young as 11 years old have access to such content?
I KNOW FOR A FACT we have some good school board Members, but... “Who, or what, is stopping the Board and/or Superintendent from protecting our children?” Can we please get FOUR GOOD BOARD MEMBERS to step up and STOP THE INSANITY?!
But WAIT, there's MORE!
After the August 22nd Polk County Public School Board Meeting, the YouTube video was pulled down and edited.
From the Lakeland Ledger
Please help me understand. I was present at the August 22nd meeting, and can tell you exactly what the language from the paragraph above was. A black man used the "N" word, and a woman who identified herself as "Ruby" used the word “sh*t at least twice, and she also called Board member Rick Nolte a “B*tch”. According to Kyle Kennedy, the PCPS senior coordinator for media, this had to be removed because "There was one expletive and one racial epithet that was used; those words will be muted but the recording will be otherwise unaltered. Using that kind of language violates our standards."
But content from “Red Hood” is okay for a child as young as 11? If you didn’t watch the video, the part read was about a minor child having her period in a man’s mouth. Content from “Lucky” is okay for a child as young as 14? The part read was about a minor child being raped with something much larger than a male appendage.
Apparently using that kind of language DOES NOT violate our standards."
Is it just me, or does this make no sense at all?
“Common sense is no longer common”. Arthur Agbuya
We'll end with this, and hopefully it will either make you laugh, get angry, or cry.
Here’s a video excerpt of "Ruby" yelling at the Polk County School Board. There were many people at the August 22nd meeting contributing to the CHAOS of the night. However, this one is amazing. The vast amount of subjects “Ruby” was able to fit in her 3 minutes included air conditioners not working on the first few days of school, the Florida approved curriculum PragerU, racism, bigotry, climate change, critical thinking, making fun of senior citizens, school shootings, white supremacists, and more. This is worth watching, “Ruby” actually screams "How do you teach adults about these things?!!!!" while behaving in a manner that was clearly not characteristic of an adult. "Ruby" called people in the crowd evil, brainwashed and hateful. In the midst of "Ruby's" screaming she called Board Member Rick Nolte a felon and a "B*tch".
Ruby did this all in under 3 minutes. Wow. It was truly amazing to see a person get that much out in such a short amount of time.
In closing, let's examine Ruby's claim regarding Board Member Rick Nolte. From the Ledger "Jacob Orr, an assistant state attorney, wrote that Nolte disclosed the violations during his regular campaign-cycle reporting. “There is no criminal case to prosecute in this matter,” Orr wrote. “All contributions that were accepted and reported would have been appropriate if the contributor wrote a check instead of using cash. The source of all the funds were reported and published on the Supervisor of Elections’ website. The excessive amounts were refunded prior to the election.” Orr added: “There is no evidence that Nolte ever concealed the source of any funds or the identity of the contributor. There is no evidence that Nolte received any contributions that exceeded lawful limits if given via check or credit card.” The largest contribution in question came from Nolte himself. Orr noted that Nolte would have faced no limit on the amount given to his own campaign in the form of a check. “He wrote a check payable to cash and contributed that cash when he should have written the check payable to his campaign,” Orr wrote. “He corrected the error. There is evidence of sloppy accounting; however, there is no evidence of criminal activity.”
Part 5, will be coming soon.