ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida school districts reported more than 700 books removed from their shelves last school year because of objections from local residents, according to a list released by the Florida Department of Education this week, but that total significantly understates the number of books banned across the state.

District educators removed far more books from their schools during the 2023-24 school year on their own initiative, worried that novels, and even children’s picture books, might violate a new state law.

Orange County Public Schools, for example, yanked about 675 books for fear they might violate the law that prohibits books containing “sexual conduct,” including classics like “East of Eden” and “Madame Bovary.” The district removed just two novels because of formal objections, according to the new state list.

Across Florida, book removed because of objections include “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, a collection of Stephen King novels and “Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.

The total number of books banned in Florida last school year was nearly 4,600, according to the watchdog group PEN America’s Nov. 1 report, with a disproportionate number of removed titles on LGBTQ+ subjects. The group’s estimate places Florida as the nationwide leader in book bans — accounting for about 45% of all book bans nationally.

PEN America’s count includes books that are temporarily removed pending a district review, which can take months or even years.

A bill passed by the Republican-dominated legislature in 2023 and signed into by Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded what critics called the “don’t say gay” law and put books that included “sexual conduct” under scrutiny. As a result, educators across the state removed titles they worried might be problematic, from classics by Ernest Hemingway to the picture book “No, David!”

The law also required school districts to report to the state any books removed because of objections by parents or others in their counties.

Last year, about 300 books were removed from Florida schools because of objections, the 2023 state report showed. The list more than doubled this year.

On the state list, Orange County reported just two book removals: “Blankets” by Craig Thompson and “Shut Up!” By Marilyn Reynolds.

Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project and mother of two OCPS students, said the state’s list is an undercount of books pulled from schools but should still worry Floridians.

“If we’re denying access there because one person in the community says something isn’t age appropriate, where they don’t like the viewpoint, that is a problem. That is wholly un-American,” she said. “I hope this list, even though it’s incomplete, gives people a lot of pause.”

Ferrell’s group, which opposes book bans, has been documenting the books pulled from Florida public schools. In its report to the state, Escambia County in the Panhandle reported no books removed, but in fact it pulled more than 1,600 books, she said.

Her group argues that administrators have overreacted to the law and incorrectly decided that any description of a sexual activity makes a book obscene and unfit for public school shelves.

DeSantis and other state leaders have called claims of book banning by the state a “hoax” and said districts were removing “pornography” from schools.

“Once again, far left activists are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians,” said Sydney Booker, a spokesman for the education department, in an email. “The better question is why do these activists continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit materials.”

Kasey Meehan, the Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, said the state created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in some schools.

Many administrators are erring on the side of caution with any materials that might be seen as objectionable, she said, removing books incorrectly.

“The rhetoric has been effectively used to kind of chill the atmosphere across Florida public schools,” she added.

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