Brian Covey used to be a substitute teacher in Jacksonville, Florida. A few weeks ago, he decided to go after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and put a viral video on social media of empty shelves at his school.
His video from Mandarin Middle School in Jacksonville was supposed to show how DeSantis’ crackdown on “woke” far-left books is starving students of knowledge and exposure to books.
He put out his viral tweet in late January, which caused quite a stir as some expressed concern and others expressed approval. Then, after responding to a question about the “fake narrative” on February 14, Covey lost his job and was fired.
Bill 1467
Bill 1467 went into law in July of last year. It stops books from being in school classrooms and libraries that include adult content, including the promotion of LGBT identity and sexual lifestyle.
The law intends to ensure students have access to all the books they need, but that the books are both age-appropriate and not involving sexual theories and identities.
Covey said he wanted to show that many books were being removed, but DeSantis said that Covey tried to push a “fake narrative.”
It was “not true,” DeSantis noted, flatly denying the idea that his state government is limiting access to knowledge for students or discriminating against gay people.
Covey insists the video is real and shows the real effect of the DeSantis-backed Bill 1467.
A Florida teacher Brian Covey worked as a permanent substitute since October was FIRED for posting a video of empty bookshelves at his middle school
He was fired after @RonDeSantisFL was asked about video by the media & called it a "false narrative"
pic.twitter.com/c9bJjRduEt— Popitics (@Popitics1) February 18, 2023
Covey Fired
Covey was let go in mid-February, following DeSantis’ criticism of his video.
The school board put out a statement about why he was let go. They said it was because he brought controversy and a bad reputation to the school by inaccurately showing the state of the library and student access to books.
This violated the school board’s rules on social media use and they were therefore parting ways with him.
School board rep Tracy Pierce said Covey made a “false accusation” and around two-thirds of all books are still completely available to kids.
Covey said books that were still in were mostly being blocked by other objects in the library and that “tables” in front of most books were trying to block kids from accessing them.
At any rate, Covey is now looking for a new job. This issue is dividing people who feel he was being a showboat and others who think he was pointing to an important issue in Florida schools.
WATCH: Young students exposes his woke school board.pic.twitter.com/js7wlLgPMQ
— Ben Kew 🐶 (@ben_kew) February 22, 2023
The Bottom Line
This debate isn’t just about access to knowledge and books in general. People like Covey are trying to push a specific alternative sexual ideology on minors and Ron DeSantis doesn’t want them to.
Should Covey have been fired? There are strong opinions on both sides. What do you think?
This article appeared in StatesmanPost and has been published here with permission.
