Stacy Hahn Helped Bring Tallahassee’s Culture War Into Hillsborough Schools
Stacy Hahn presents herself as an experienced educator who spent eight years working for children, accountability, and good government. But her record on the School Board record tells a more political story.
Hahn was not just swept up in Florida’s education culture war. She chose a side again and again. She voted to remove books, opposed recognizing LGBTQ students, and stood with Gov. Ron DeSantis and his education commissioner as they defended the state’s censorship campaign.
In March 2023, Hahn stood next to DeSantis and then-Education Commissioner Manny Diaz at a Tampa event where they called Florida’s book bans a “hoax.” At that same event, they also defended the state’s rejection of an AP African American Studies course.
Hahn told reporters she had been trying for a year to keep certain books off Hillsborough’s shelves. “It is very difficult to be in the minority on a school board,” she complained. “As much as I fight, I have one vote.” This was not an educator reluctantly following state law. It was an elected official siding with Tallahassee politicians and lamenting that her colleagues had removed more books.
Later that month, Hahn voted to remove This Book Is Gay from all Hillsborough middle schools. The book has explicit content, and people can reasonably debate if it is right for younger students. But two review committees had already looked at it and said it should stay. Parents also could already stop their own children from checking it out.
Hahn decided that was not enough. Her decision, along with those pushing for removal, would affect every family. So much for parental rights. It seems some parents get to decide what all children can read.
Hahn’s vote was not a one-time thing. In June 2023, the Board looked at proclamations for Juneteenth and Pride Month. Juneteenth passed unanimously. Hahn voted against the Pride proclamation, and Patti Rendon abstained.
A proclamation is symbolic. So is voting against it.
In April 2024, the Board reviewed challenges to Blankets by Craig Thompson and Identical by Ellen Hopkins. Five members voted to keep the books. Only Hahn and Rendon voted to remove them.
Then Tallahassee applied more pressure. State education officials called in Superintendent Van Ayres, attacked the district’s review process, and warned of possible legal trouble if Hillsborough did not comply. The district removed dozens of books and set aside hundreds more for review. In September 2025, the Board changed its earlier decision and unanimously removed Blankets and Identical.
Some members made it clear they felt forced. Jessica Vaughn said she was voting under pressure and called the state’s threats an abuse of power. Which is precisely what they were.
Hahn did not protest. She had already voted to remove both books before Tallahassee arrived with the legal club. She did not give in to the state; on this issue, she was ahead of them.
This is not just a theoretical issue for me.
When I was growing up gay, I had no books to help me understand my feelings. People almost never talked about homosexuality, especially with kids. I spent years wondering if anyone else felt like I did.
One thing I learned back then was that giving in to bullies never worked out. My mother also taught me that real leadership means standing up for what is right, even when others disagree. Sticking to your principles matters when you represent others.
I often wonder how different those years would have been if I had found a story about someone like me. I did not need a book to “turn” me gay. That idea would be laughable if some politicians had not built careers pretending it was true. What I needed was reassurance that people like me existed, that they could have good lives, and that I was not alone.
Right now, somewhere in Hillsborough County, a child needs that same reassurance. The Trevor Project found that 39% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered suicide in the previous year and 12% attempted it; its latest survey found lower attempt rates among those attending supportive schools. Books that tell a child, “You are not alone,” help create that support. Apparently, some politicians care more about feeding a culture war than protecting the children trapped in it.
That child might not be able to talk to a parent. They might not have money to buy books. The school library could be the only safe place where they can find information, recognition, or just a bit of comfort. Adults who take away those books rarely have to face that child. They get to congratulate themselves for protecting innocence, collect endorsements, and move on to the next campaign. The child is left with the silence.
Some people may say Hahn was just protecting students from explicit content. But that argument is less convincing when you see she also voted against a Pride proclamation and stood with DeSantis at an event calling book bans a “hoax.”
This was not just careful oversight. It politicized a supposedly nonpartisan School Board seat into a political battleground. My opinion is that there are certain groups of students she is willing to sacrifice to the culture wars in order to win elections.
Hahn may seem more polished than the loudest culture warriors. She has an educator’s credentials, a calm voice, and better table manners. But censorship does not feel any softer to children just because it comes from someone with a doctorate and a pleasant smile.
Now Hahn is running for a seat on the County Commission.
Voters should think about how she used the public trust she already had: whose rights she stood up for, whose voices she ignored, and how quickly she turned the School Board into another battleground in Tallahassee’s political war.
Somewhere in Hillsborough County, a child desperately needs a book that an adult has decided they should not read. I know what it could mean to find that book. That was me at one time.
Sources
- WUSF, “DeSantis calls Florida’s book bans a ‘hoax,’ defends his decision to reject African American course”
https://www.wusf.org/education/2023-03-09/desantis-calls-floridas-book-bans-a-hoax-defends-his-decision-to-reject-african-american-course - WUSF, “Hillsborough vote bans ‘This Book Is Gay’ from county middle schools”
https://www.wusf.org/education/2023-03-29/hillsborough-school-board-ban-this-book-is-gay-county-middle-schools - Hillsborough County School Board, official meeting agendas, records, and voting materials
https://go.boarddocs.com/fl/sdhc/Board.nsf/Public - WMNF, “Hillsborough School Board approves proclamations supporting Pride, Juneteenth”
https://www.wmnf.org/hillsborough-school-board-approves-proclamations-highlighting-diversity/ - Hillsborough County Public Schools, “Special Called School Board Meeting,” concerning Blankets and Identical
https://www.hillsboroughschools.org/article/2226454 - WUSF, “Hillsborough superintendent defends review of library books amid doubt from state board”
https://www.wusf.org/education/2025-06-05/hillsborough-superintendent-defends-review-library-books-amid-doubt-state-board - PEN America, “‘They’re Child Abusers’: Florida’s Hillsborough County Faces a Frightening State-Driven Censorship Campaign”
https://pen.org/floridas-hillsborough-county-faces-a-frightening-state-driven-censorship-campaign/ - Florida Freedom to Read Project, “Addressing State Actions in Hillsborough Schools”
https://www.fftrp.org/addressing_state_actions_in_hillsborough_schools - WUSF, “Two more books are removed from Hillsborough County schools”
https://www.wusf.org/education/2025-09-11/two-more-books-removed-hillsborough-county-schools - The Trevor Project, “2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People”
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/ - The Trevor Project, “2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People”
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2025/
