Danica Davidson
July 27, 2023 
Yvonne Stagg, a woman in Polk County, Florida, has filed an appeal to get the manga Assassination Classroom banned from local high school libraries. She said in her complaint that she learned about the manga from “national news.” The school district had committees look at all the Assassination Classroom books, and then voted unanimously to keep them on the shelves.
It used to be that the decision of whether or not to keep books in school libraries fell to the school districts, but Florida has since changed its laws. Now, because Stagg filed an appeal, it goes to the Florida commissioner of education.
The new statute states, “If a parent disagrees with the determination made by the district school board on the objection to the use of a specific material, a parent may request the Commissioner of Education to appoint a special magistrate who is a member of The Florida Bar in good standing and who has at least 5 years’ experience in administrative law. . . The special magistrate shall determine facts relating to the school district’s determination, consider information provided by the parent and the school district, and render a recommended decision.”
The school district is also saddled with the costs of the magistrate.
LkldNow, the local nonprofit covering this news, asked Stagg if she had read the manga, if she were associated with any organizations, and if she had any children or grandchildren in the affected schools. Stagg did not answer their questions.
Emma Matzen, who works at the Lakeland Public Library and saw the anime as a middle schooler, thinks the proposed ban is ridiculous. “I don’t really understand why people are complaining about it, to be honest. I watched the anime and read some of them, too. Their teacher is an alien that’s going to destroy the world and the teacher is an octopus. That’s just goofy.”
Source: LkldNow
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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