Opening eCampus, junior Jack Graeber checked the calendar to see his homework. When he read “Textbook notes,” he knew he was going to have a problem. He had not received his textbook, and the assignment was due in two days. 

With recent textbook bans and record numbers of students, getting textbooks to students has not been easy.

In May, the Florida Department of Education rejected 41% of approved math textbooks, one-third of which, according to the governor’s office, contained discussions of unsolicited topics, like the critical race theory. The county’s selected Precalculus and Math for College Liberal Arts books were rejected, forcing selection committees to reconvene and select new books. This process took weeks to complete, further delaying the textbook ordering process. Administration expects them to be delivered in September. Despite the missing books, teachers are not allowed to use old textbooks because they are not based on current standards, according to assistant principal Kristi Draus. 

“[The textbook ban] makes teachers’ jobs more difficult, which is tough in a time when teaching ain’t easy,” Draus said. 

On top of that, the media center has run out of a number of textbooks, including those needed for Biology and Physics courses. Other classes, such as Geometry and Chemistry, will only have class sets of textbooks due to the increased number of students taking on-campus classes: 2,500 students, 744 of which are freshmen. 

Student assistants have helped distribute textbooks in the media center, with four to five students being stationed at one of five rooms: social studies, science, English, math and world languages. Typically, student assistants are able to report to their teachers on the first or second day of school, but distribution took more than a week, according to senior and student assistant Corbin Whitlow. 

“The delay is a huge inconvenience,” Whitlow said. “It’s always better to get the textbooks handed out as soon as possible.”

Principal Robert Frasca notified teachers on Tuesday that they should not penalize students who have not received their textbooks, as distribution is ongoing. Additionally, he said that students should not be sent down to the media center to get a book for an assignment. 

To combat these issues, textbook publishers agreed to make their content available through the student portal until hard copies arrive. For Precalculus and Math for College Liberal Arts, teachers have been given paper copies to help guide lesson plans and create assignments. 

“We are not without [some form of] textbooks for any classes,” Draus said. “Once the hard copies come in, we will work with teachers to get them to students.”