Hillsborough County schools face state pressure over books under review
The Brief
Hillsborough County's superintendent is meeting with state officials this week over demands to ban certain school library books.
Florida's attorney general and education commissioner said the district hasn't removed "inappropriate" books fast enough.
The school board hasn't voted on the matter, but hundreds of books are now under review.
TAMPA, Fla. - Hillsborough County School Superintendent Van Ayres is scheduled to meet with Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz in Miami on Wednesday.
What we know
The meeting follows a letter from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier demanding the "immediate removal" of what he called "patently pornographic" books from school libraries.
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In response, the school district has launched a new review of potentially hundreds of titles, a process that could cost up to $500,000, according to board members.
No official vote was taken at Tuesday night's school board meeting, but emotions ran high as members and parents debated the direction of the district's approach to book removals.
What they're saying
Parents for the ban said the action by state officials have been a long time coming.
RELATED:Florida leaders send letter to Hillsborough Schools demanding certain books deemed inappropriate be removed
"It's just been a complete failure to protect kids. So that's what we've been fighting," said one Moms for Liberty parent. "I've been to probably 35 meetings and there has been zero progress in Hillsborough County."
Another parent said, "Hopefully now, our state education commissioner will hold them accountable and let them explain why they haven't been following the laws."
The other side
Critics of the book bans argue that many of the targeted titles are not only appropriate but also vital for students from marginalized communities.
"I feel like they're highlighting the worst-case scenarios," said Hillsborough parent Gianny Hunt. "Maybe that is reality for some kids. Maybe it speaks to a child who's experiencing something like that."
Hunt added that some of the books flagged for removal include stories about race, immigration, and military service — narratives she says resonate with many students.
The Source
This article is based on reporting from a Hillsborough County School Board meeting, official statements from the district and Florida state officials, and interviews with local parents and community members.
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Yahoo
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Fact Check: Ms. Rachel didn't say Palestinian children's lives are 'worth more' than others
Claim: Rachel Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel, said, "You may pay a price for defending Palestinian children. Let it be paid! Their lives are worth more!" Rating: Context: Accurso's consistent message, mostly expressed on social media and in interviews, centers her universal support of all children's rights, including access to food, water, education, medical care and protection from violence. In addition to advocating for Gazan and Israeli children and families, she has expressed support for children living in other conflict zones, including Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine. Beginning in May 2025, online users shared quote memes claiming Rachel Accurso, better known as the YouTube children's educational star Ms. Rachel, said the lives of Palestinian children were "worth more" than others. The quote read: "You may pay a price for defending Palestinian children. Let it be paid! Their lives are worth more!" For example, on June 1, an X user posted (archived) a quote meme with Accurso's picture and the purported comment. The post received more than 2.2 million views, 17,000 reposts and 110,000 likes. (Image courtesy of @theleftbible/X) Another X user's post (archived) from May 22 featured a different meme displaying the same quote, earning nearly 2 million views and more than 22,000 reposts and 170,000 likes. Many other users shared the same quote or a meme displaying the quote on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), LinkedIn (archived), Reddit (archived), Threads (archived), TikTok (archived) and X (archived). (Image courtesy of @donyaihsan/X) However, searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo, as well as The Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, People and The Washington Post, found no evidence of Accurso ever making the remark, or saying with other words she believed the lives of Palestinian children were more valuable than others. Rather, users sharing the quote with her image and name mischaracterized her past comments, in which she had repeatedly spoken out about the suffering of Gazan children and Israeli hostages during the Israel-Hamas war, as well as children suffering in other countries, while at the same time expressing universal support for all children's rights, including access to food, water, education, medical care and protection from violence. The image of Accurso appearing in the aforementioned June 1 X post originated from an interview on NBC's "Today" show, a brief appearance in which no one mentioned Israel, Gaza or conflict zones. The May 22 X post's photo possibly originated from one of Accurso's videos intended for children. Snopes contacted Creative Artists Agency, which represents Accurso, to ask about the misleading quote memes. We also sent a private message to the author of the aforementioned Reddit post on the r/Palestinian subreddit to ask for their source regarding the quote, as their post was the earliest record found yet online, according to our searches. We will update this story if we learn more. In the year and months since Oct. 7, 2023 — the day when the militant Palestinian group Hamas carried out an attack in Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 250 hostages, including dozens who later died in captivity — Accurso's @msrachelforlittles Instagram page, and her other social media accounts, became more and more filled with posts about supporting children and families in both Gaza and Israel, as well as those involved in conflicts in other countries. Citing Palestinian health authorities, Reuters reported in March 2025 that Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza had killed more than 50,000 people, with nearly a third under the age of 18. As one of many examples, on Feb. 9, Accurso posted her thoughts about universally caring for all children, without mentioning any countries or religions. The post read: "Compassion is not controversial. Human rights and children's rights are not controversial. All people being equal is not controversial. Children deserving access to water, food, education and medical care is not controversial. Children deserving to be protected from violence is not controversial." She added in the post's text caption, "Having to say this is heartbreaking." In another example, from June 3, she shared (archived) a message reading, in part, "I stand against all forms of hate and violence — including antisemitism, anti-Palestinian hate, anti-Arab hate, anti-Muslim hate and all hate meant to divide us and cause harm rather than bring us together. Every child, person and every family deserves to feel valued, loved and safe." Accurso's pinned Instagram posts, as of this writing, documented her meeting with a young Gazan girl named Rahaf. "Rahaf is a 3-year-old double amputee who lost her legs in an airstrike," she wrote in one post. In other posts, she told world leaders to "be so ashamed" of remaining silent regarding Gazan suffering, alleging such leaders practiced "anti-Palestinian racism." A review of Accurso's Instagram feed found posts expressing support not just of Gazan children and families but also Israeli victims, including documenting her meeting with "a close family member of hostages," expressing support for Israeli children and others who witnessed Hamas' attack on Oct. 7 and extending sympathy following the announcement of the deaths of three Israeli hostages — a woman named Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel. Also, on May 22, she posted, "My heart is so heavy hearing about the tragic killing of Israeli embassy workers, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C." In 2023, Accurso teamed up with the humanitarian nonprofit group Save the Children. In May 2024, she experienced online bullying after announcing a fundraiser affiliated with the charity organization, one benefitting children in conflict zones. She specifically mentioned "children living in conflict [in] Gaza, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo [and] Ukraine." On May 12, 2025, the Zeteo news media outlet, founded by journalist Medhi Hasan, published a video interview with Accurso. Hasan asked Accurso a number of questions, including about people who speak out against her for talking about the suffering of Gazan children. Zeteo has since published the full interview on YouTube. Accurso told Hasan: The idea that caring for a group of children in an emergency situation means you don't care about other children is false. And I just don't understand. I just don't understand it. As teachers, I was a New York City public school teacher, and I care about every child in my class. I don't care about half of them because of where they were born. I care about all of them. And if some are in an emergency situation, I'm going to say, "Let's help them." And it doesn't mean I don't deeply care about all of them. Later, she talked about meeting with the family member of an Israeli hostage, saying, "Our compassion doesn't have boundaries or borders. We just love kids, and I have connected and sat with a family member of a, whose family is held hostage right now, and I was moved to tears multiple times. It was horrific and harrowing, and I also put myself, as an empathetic person I put myself in that situation and it's just horrible." Hasan, asking Accurso about "a small minority of people who want to cause trouble" about her advocacy of Gazan children and all children, inquired about those people alleging her words amounted to antisemitism. She responded, while in tears, "It doesn't make sense. It's not true. I'm against any bigotry. And I've seen bigotry. It's, it's horrible. And I'm so against it." Asking why she speaks out in support of children living in conflict zones, including in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and Mali, Accurso responded, "I do think it's a calling from God." In an NPR interview published on June 3, Accurso repeated many of the points she made to Hasan. Responding to a question about people who expressed criticism of her support of Gazan children, she said, "It's really painful. And I have to remind myself that people don't know my heart, and people try to tell you who you are, but you know who you are. And I know how deeply and equally I care for all children, and I do lean on my faith in that situation." The official Ms. Rachel website features biographies for her and her husband, Aron, who both star in their trademark "Songs for Littles" YouTube videos. Her biography twice says she advocates for "all children," makes note of her two master's degrees in education and mentions Herbie, a puppet character that appears in the Ms. Rachel series of videos: Rachel is a passionate educator who creates research-based videos to help toddlers and their families learn, bond, and thrive. Her videos infuse songs, games and nursery rhymes with strategies from experts to help children reach important milestones in the crucial early years of learning. Rachel believes all children are capable, brilliant and important. She loves learning from them and being around their contagious joy and wonder. Rachel has two master's degrees in education. She has one in early childhood development and one in music education. She is an advocate for children's rights and works to ensure that all children have access to high quality early childhood education. She is an ambassador for Save the Children and Room to Grow. Her sweet little boy inspired the show and continues to inspire her work every day! She is married to the amazing, Mr. Aron, AKA HERBIE! The Ms. Rachel YouTube channel has earned over 11 billion views and 15 million subscribers, as of this writing. Accurso's character has appeared in more than 100 videos, including prominently collaborating with the children's TV show "Sesame Street" and the Australian children's music group The Wiggles. For further reading, a previous fact check detailed the facts of another investigation featuring Ms. Rachel, in which an unfounded rumor claimed Accurso filed a lawsuit against comedian and creator Druski over a video parodying her famous character. Al-Mughrabi, Nidal, and Emma Farge. "Gaza Death Toll: How Many Palestinians Has Israel's Offensive Killed?" Reuters, 24 Mar. 2025, Cervantes Jr, Fernando. "Ms. Rachel Defends Advocacy for Palestinian Children amid Backlash: 'It's Sad.'" USA TODAY, 14 May 2025, Hasan, Mehdi. "EXCLUSIVE: The One and Only Ms. Rachel Opens Up to Mehdi on Her Advocacy for Gaza's Kids." Zeteo, 12 May 2025, Locke, Ashley, and Asma Khalid. "Ms. Rachel Says She'll Keep Advocating for Children in Gaza, Even If It Means Risking Her Career." New England Public Media, 3 June 2025, "Ms Rachel DEFENDS Her Support for Gaza's Kids." YouTube, Zeteo, 21 May 2025, "Ms. Rachel Details the Importance of Narrating Your Day to Children." 24 Sept. 2024, "@msrachelforlittles." Instagram, Odenheimer, Natan, et al. "Gaza War Led to Deaths of More Than 3 Dozen Hostages, Officials Say." The New York Times, 8 Mar. 2025, Peled, Anat, and Summer Said. "Hamas Took Around 250 Hostages From Israel. Here's What We Know." The Wall Street Journal, 27 Feb. 2025, "Team (Ms Rachel)." Ms Rachel | Official Site, "Tens of Thousands of Israelis Bid Farewell to Hamas Hostages Shiri Bibas and Her 2 Sons Killed in Gaza." PBS News, 26 Feb. 2025, Tolentino, Daysia. "Viral Kids Creator Ms. Rachel Says She Experienced Bullying after Fundraising for Children in Gaza." NBC News, 17 May 2024, Tracy, Marc. "Why Tot Celebrity Ms. Rachel Waded Into the Gaza Debate." The New York Times, 14 May 2025, "Trump Says Only 21 Hostages Held by Hamas in Gaza Are Still Believed to Be Alive." PBS News via The Associated Press, 7 May 2025, "YouTube Star Educator Ms Rachel Joins Save the Children to Help Boost Child Literacy." Save the Children, 8 Sept. 2023,
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