Holy Bible briefly pulled from Florida school shelves after it was challenged for 'sexually explicit content'

DELAND, Fla. - The Holy Bible is back on school shelves in one Florida county after it was temporarily pulled for review.

Volusia County Schools said it received a challenge against the book last Friday. The district said it followed protocol in removing it for review and found state law protected the Bible.

Christina Quinn challenged the book for having what she said is "sexually explicit content."

"I wouldn’t say it’s just to prove a point," Quinn said. "It is basically saying ‘What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,’ so we can’t pick some and not pick others when they both have similar material."

An internal district email obtained by FOX 35 News instructed staff on Monday, "If you have a copy of the bible in your classroom, please remove it from student access…"

State law says the district has five days to pull the books for review, and they’re supposed to be kept away from students pending the outcome. 

Hannah Harger, a Spruce Creek High School junior, led a petition to keep the Bible in school. She gathered more than 1,000 signatures.

"It was kind of shocking that they would even think about taking a historical piece of evidence for history classes or literature out of our reach and out of our curriculum," Harger said.

Both Harger and Quinn spoke at Tuesday’s school board meeting during public comment. The Bible was not on the school board's meeting agenda. The decision to reinstate the book was announced Tuesday afternoon.

Ruben Colón, Volusia County Schools board member, said the fight over whether the Bible should or should not be allowed goes above the school board.

"The law was passed by the legislature and where folks are coming to us with it, the reality is you go to the legislature with it," Colón said. "They’re the ones that pass the laws."

Volusia County Schools told FOX 35 that 31 books have received objections this school year. The district said nine titles were discontinued, six titles were deleted from library collections based on initial review and circulation of content and 15 books still had pending reviews.

The Bible is the only book to have received an objection this year to return to Volusia County Schools bookshelves without any restrictions.