The Nassau County School Board voted unanimously to deny a textbook objection submitted by Jack Knocke, executive director of Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF), in a regular school board meeting Thursday.
The Nassau County School District’s inaugural public hearing on a textbook objection took place May 20. Knocke filed a formal complaint against a world history textbook, “World History Interactive,” published by SAVVAS Learning LLC, approved by the Florida Department of Education and Nassau County School Board for grades 9-12 world history classes. The basis for the objection, according to the petition, being “the material is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material.”
Nassau County School District attorney Brett Steger presided over the May 20 hearing along with hearing officer Sharyl Wood. The Nassau County School Board was present to review and listen to the evidence presented, both verbal and documentary.
At the recent regular meeting of the school board Thursday, Wood gave her textbook objection recommendation to the board following her review of all materials provided, the testimony and arguments from the hearing.
Wood began her recommendation with a thank you message to Knocke, saying, “Thank you to Mr. Knocke, for engaging the process of textbook selection. In life, it’s good to be able to hear differing positions on an issue, discern facts from opinions and weigh evidence to come to a conclusion in matters setting aside bias. Our form of government sets a high value on people’s participation and is only valuable if people do participate.”
Wood reviewed the basis for the objection and listed and reviewed the related evidence that was presented at the objection hearing.
Knocke supplied the following evidence at the May 20 hearing: A copy of the Nassau County School District Specific Material Objection form, a written copy of Knocke’s planned presentation for the hearing and a 178-page bound testimony/evidence document.
The school district supplied the following evidence at the May 20 hearing: Procedures for hearings on challenges to textbooks approved for adoption (Nassau County School District document), a written copy of the school district’s planned presentation for the hearing, the publisher Savvas’ response to several comments made by the CDF, policies and procedures specifications for the Florida Instructional materials adoption (Florida Department of Education document), Nassau County School District instructional materials adoption timeline 2023-24, 2023-24 Nassau County textbook adoption process, 2022-23 K-12 social studies instructional materials adoption list (Florida Department of Education document), Nassau County School District letter to vendors outlining the school district requirements for digital access to materials, print samples and vendor presentations and the agenda and attendance rosters for vendor presentations.
“After hearing and reviewing the testimony given and reviewing the materials submitted by Mr. Knocke and the school district as well as reviewing the Florida Department of Education textbook adoption procedures specific to the adoption of the subject textbook during the 2022-23 adoption cycle, it is the finding of this hearing officer that the objection made by Mr. Knocke as marked on Section 3: Basis for this objection on the Nassau County School District Specific Material Objection form, stating ‘the material is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material’ is unfounded,” said the statement read by Wood.
Knocke’s materials and evidence failed to define student needs or show that those needs were unmet. During his testimony, Knocke expressed his opinions on what should be included in a world history class but did not provide evidence of unmet student needs. The primary need for students in a high school course is to learn the required content. The World History Interactive textbook aligns 92.8% with Florida standards and complies with state laws, meeting educational needs. Additional materials are available to cover the subject content, indicating the textbook sufficiently supports student learning.
“In summary, the evidence provided by Mr. Knocke did not address the stated objection,” continued the summary by Wood. “Where specific examples were given from the textbook, the objections were not due to students’ needs not being met nor students’ inability to understand the material. The state objections cited Mr. Knocke’s personal opposition to the material based on political, philosophical and/or religious ideology.”
Public comments were made during the school board meeting, with some individuals supporting the textbook and others expressing concerns about the content and the transparency of CDF.
Seth T., a Nassau County student, contested the textbook objection, questioning whether “we are going to allow religious beliefs” to dictate textbook adoptions. Seth, along with Rachel Steele, who criticized Citizens for Defending Freedom as a “well-funded outside group with narrow views,” advocated for the separation of church and state. Jeffery Hirschberg warned that “when a system bans books, burns books, the attack on people might not be too far behind.” Ryan Perkins emphasized, “We must not cater to politics involving our county or our students.” Math teacher James Glackin supported the Savvas editorial guidelines, while David Cook stated that Knocke’s textbook objection stemmed from his “political, philosophical and religious ideology.”
Ryan Perkins, a Nassau County teacher, stated that the group is protesting a visual timeline page mentioning the Communist Party manifesto and Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species,” questioning their relevance to the Industrial Revolution. He argued that the group misunderstands the period, focusing solely on mechanization and ignoring the role of workers, and noted that the textbook answers their questions.
Robin Lentz questioned the transparency of Citizens Defending Freedom, asking, “I am very interested in this group’s promotion around town and their status as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4). Does Mr. Knocke receive a salary for complaining about textbooks? CDF needs to be more transparent about how they operate.” Richard Lampken talked “about the validity of creationism and the invalidity of evolutionism. The textbook is just focused on evolutionism and does not give any understanding of creationism” and Margaret Weeks, who has taught science and technology in community colleges for 17 years, emphasized, “Truth does not need an apologist or indoctrination. Students need to learn how to think, not what to think. Religion belongs in homes, not as a replacement for science in our schools. I want my grandchildren to learn social-emotional learning skills.”
In preparation for the final vote, Steger clarified “the vote is for a motion to deny the objection, which means that the textbook that this board previously approved remains the textbook for world history for the upcoming school year.”
Before asking for those in favor or opposed, board member Curtis Gaus engaged in discussion and said, “We heard a lot of differing opinions, and I appreciate all of them, but I want to go back to, specifically, to information that the teachers provided cause I think we need to make sure we are valuing their opinion, valuing their education, valuing their experience. They are the ones that are teaching our students.”
“There are multiple Supreme Court cases well above this body that tells us what we can and can’t teach when it comes to religion in public schools,” continued Gaus, “not that I agree with all of it, but we are bound by Supreme Court precedent.”
The vote to deny the objection passed unanimously 4-0. Board member Shannon Hogue, District 1, was not present.
The next regular meeting of the Nassau County School Board is scheduled to take place June 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the district office located at 1201 Atlantic Ave. in Fernandina Beach.
tdishman@fbnewsleader.com