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A federal judge has paused a lawsuit against the Escambia County School Board over book removals.

The lawsuit was filed by free speech group PEN America and publisher Penguin Random House, alleging First Amendment violations.

The stay was issued to await rulings in two similar, pending federal appeals court cases regarding book removals.

Legal proceedings are halted for the time being in a lawsuit in which a national free speech group and major publisher are accusing a Florida school board of violating the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II signed a "stay order" Oct. 21 on a lawsuit filed in 2023 between free speech group PEN America and the Escambia County School Board. A stay order is meant to pause legal proceedings; Wetherell noted

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