Two Escambia County School Board members elected last year have gone to a federal appeals court as they seek to be shielded from testifying in a long-running legal battle about removing or restricting access to books in school libraries.

Attorneys for board members Carissa Bergosh and Tom Harrell on Tuesday filed a notice that is a first step in asking the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a decision issued last week by U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell.

The appeal stems from a lawsuit filed in 2023 by parents, authors, the publishing company Penguin Random House and the free speech group PEN American Center, Inc., challenging decisions by the school board to remove or restrict access to books.The lawsuit alleges the decisions violated the First Amendment.

Wetherell

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