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Educational Censorship

The Issue

PEN America is a national leader in fighting educational censorship in both higher ed and K-12. Our signature campaign against educational gag orders — legislative restrictions on the freedom to learn and teach that have swept the country since January 2021 — has generated media coverage in over a hundred publications. We will continue to expand our work to defend students and teachers against legislative infringements on free expression in the classroom.

Index of Educational Gag Orders

PEN America tracks these bills in our Index of Educational Gag Orders, updated weekly.

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American Council On Education PEN America Resource Guide

Making the Case for Academic Freedom in a Challenging Political Environment: A Resource Guide for Campus Leaders

The new resource guide, Making the Case for Academic Freedom in a Challenging Political Environment: A Resource Guide for Campus Leaders, provides an overview of the trends that are unfolding and the forces that shape them. It offers specific guidance to campus stakeholders, explaining how they can address these issues with a range of audiences, including lawmakers, trustees, and community members.

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Champions of Higher Education

Galvanized by legislative threats and united by a shared vision of American higher education as an essential pillar of democracy, over 200 college, university, and system heads are banding together to launch the Champions of Higher Education. Together, these higher education champions will coordinate communications and coalition-building efforts to fight political interference and government overreach on campus.

MEET THE CHAMPIONS

Educational Gag Orders In Your Community: A Tip Sheet for Changing the Conversation

Legislative restrictions on the freedom to read, learn, and teach threaten free expression and academic freedom in the classroom and limit the ideas and perspectives students can discuss and understand. If you live in the United States, it’s likely that your state legislature or school district has either passed an educational gag order or is considering doing so. Here are a few steps you can take to combat these threats in your own community.

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REPORTS

Lawmakers Shift Strategies as Resistance Rises

In 2023, educational gag orders changed dramatically in their shape. Their supporters, who remain overwhelmingly politically conservative, have learned from past mistakes and have new and more insidious strategies for silencing America’s educators.

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Educational Intimidation

“This rising tide of educational intimidation exposes the movement that cloaks itself in the language of ‘parental rights’ for what it really is: a smoke screen for efforts to suppress teaching and learning and hijack public education in America,” said Jonathan Friedman, director of Free Expression and Education programs at PEN America.

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America's Censored Classrooms

This year, proposed educational gag orders have increased 250 percent compared to 2021. Thirty-six different states have introduced 137 gag order bills in 2022, compared to 22 states introducing 54 bills in 2021. While there has been a decline in new gag order laws passed from 12 last year to 7 this year, overall, legislative attacks on education in America have been escalating—fast.

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Educational Gag Orders

Between January and September 2021, 24 legislatures across the United States introduced 54 separate bills intended to restrict teaching and training in K-12 schools, higher education, and state agencies and institutions. The majority of these bills target discussions of race, racism, gender, and American history.

Read the Report