A federal judge is poised to rule on whether Escambia County School Board members can avoid testifying about their decision to remove the children’s book And Tango Makes Three from school libraries.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor is scheduled to hold a hearing on September 4 to consider a motion for a protective order that seeks to prevent the board members from being deposed.
The school district’s legal team contends that the board members are covered by “legislative privilege,” which would protect them from having to testify in the case.
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This motion comes after Judge Winsor’s July 10 ruling, where he denied a previous request to shield the board members from depositions but allowed for a revised submission. The new motion was filed on July 24.
The book’s co-authors, Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, along with a student identified as B.G., are challenging the district’s decision to remove And Tango Makes Three, arguing that the move violated First Amendment rights.
As part of the lawsuit, the plaintiffs’ attorneys are seeking to depose school board members, alleging that the book was singled out because it depicts a same-sex couple raising a child.
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And Tango Makes Three tells the story of two male penguins who nurture and raise a chick together at New York’s Central Park Zoo. The lawsuit claims that the book was removed from the library shelves due to its representation of a same-sex family.
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