Florida warns schools of ‘divisive’ online platform used to catalog books
An online reading platform used by school districts to comply with Florida book laws is now under fire by the state’s top education official who accused it, without providing specifics, of trying to “push an ideology” and “subvert parental rights.”
Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas sent a letter to districts on July 23, warning that the Beanstack platform “provides access to material that is not age or developmentally appropriate for students.”
Beanstack is used by more than 40 Florida school districts — including some of its largest, among them Orange County Public Schools and Broward County Public Schools — to catalog books in classroom libraries, log the time students spend reading and offer parents a way to see what titles are available in their children’s schools.
The company says no one can access materials through the platform, however. They can only read the titles of available books or take part in reading challenges. Still, Kamoutas’ letter, which he told superintendents to share with parents, prompted at least two school districts to suspend their Beanstack accounts and others to assure parents there was nothing inappropriate available through the platform.
Kamoutsas wrote that any district using Beanstack was “now on notice” and urged districts to review their use of the platform for violations of Florida law.
“Beanstack’s attempt to push an ideology, subvert parental rights in education and ignore Florida policy is divisive and problematic,” he said.
The Florida Department of Education did not respond to questions seeking specific examples of what Kamoutsas found objectionable.
Felix Brandon Lloyd, Beanstack’s CEO, wrote in an email that the company did its own investigation and determined that the incident it thinks prompted Florida’s letter — which he declined to provide information about — did not involve any Florida school districts’ Beanstack accounts.
“To our knowledge, no Florida public education institution provides access to materials not deemed by state laws to be age or developmentally appropriate for students through Beanstack,” he wrote.
Michael Ollendorff, a spokesperson for Orange County Public Schools, said Beanstack only shows book titles, author names and library book numbers. OCPS has used it since 2019 and increased its use in 2022 when a new state law required districts to review and catalog books in teachers’ classroom collections, not just those in school media centers.
In a subsequent message to school superintendents, Kamoutsas asked them to send his letter about Beanstack to all public school parents.
In Palm Beach County, parents got an email that read, “It is important to note that the School District of Palm Beach County does not use this platform, and we are sharing this letter at the direction of the Florida Department of Education.”
In Orange, the district shared the letter and later told staff that it will continue in the coming year to use Beanstack to log minutes for reading challenges and to catalog classroom libraries.
The Osceola County school district told parents in its message July 24 that it hadn’t violated any Florida law by using Beanstack, but also said it would suspend access to the program temporarily.
Broward schools did the same, Beanstack said in a social media post. The district’s webpages referencing Beanstack led to error messages on Friday.
Stephanie Vanos, an Orange County School Board member who has children in Orange’s public schools, said the commissioner’s letter was “aggressive” and “unnecessary,” adding that she had “real questions” about whether the state knew what Beanstack actually was.
“We would be happy to meet with any member of the (state) board of education and show them how we use Beanstack in Orange County, if that’s what they need,” Vanos said.
Vanos said the state’s letter adds to a “culture of fear” around books in Florida.
New state laws passed in 2022 and 2023 put heightened scrutiny on school library books, requiring media specialists — teachers with additional library training — to review and approve all books in classroom collections and school libraries and to exclude those that feature pornography or “sexual conduct.”
New state training for media specialists also warned them to “err on the side of caution” when approving books and that they can face criminal penalties and lose their teaching certificates if they approve inappropriate books.
Last year, Florida led the country in school book bans with 4,561 instances in the state’s public schools, according to a report by free-speech group PEN America.
Library media specialists have had to navigate a confusing set of hurdles since Florida began passing these laws, said Kasey Meehan, the group’s Freedom to Read program director.
The state’s letter contains “chilling language” that adds to those hurdles but also makes an “absurd” charge against Beanstack, she said.
The state’s criticism of Beanstack comes as the education department awarded a four-year, $15.6 million contract to Trinity Education Group, a Maryland-based education technology firm, in 2024 to develop a state-sponsored system to catalog and object to library materials.
It’s unclear when the state’s school library book catalog could roll out to Florida school districts or how it would impact districts’ existing platforms, such as Beanstack.