Order to Remove Dozens of Challenged Books in Texas, Including the Bible, Is an Appalling Violation of Students’ Rights
In response to the news, Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America, said: "The sweeping attempt to remove these titles from classrooms and libraries… More
Utah School District’s Reversal on Decision to Remove 52 Books From School Libraries Is an Important Step in Recognizing Students’ Speech Rights
Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America, said: "At a board meeting this week, the Alpine School Board announced that they will not be… More
Florida School District Slaps Stigmatizing and Alarming Warning Labels on Books Deemed “Unsuitable” for Children
Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America, said in response: “This alarming development is just the latest in an onslaught of attacks against students’… More
Ban on 52 Books in Largest Utah School District is a Worrisome Escalation of Censorship
“This is a concerning escalation of the book banning we saw last school year. Elected officials and attorneys general are now easing and encouraging banning, facilitating the fulfillment of… More
Treasures from the PEN America Archives Celebrates 100th Year in NY Historical Society Exhibit Opening July 22
Highlights include a letter from poet T.S. Eliot in 1948, expressing his “distress and terror” over a dinner being organized in his honor; cocktail party invitations sent between 1951… More
Book Banning In Walton County Based On Misleading “Porn In Schools Report” Illustrates Alarming Influence Of Fringe Groups On Educational Censorship
School districts like Walton are letting bigoted, unfounded claims dictate access to literature for all Last week, reports circulated that Walton County School District in Florida decided to remove a… More
Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students’ First Amendment Rights (April 2022)
PEN America has collated an Index of School Book Bans, offering a snapshot of the trend of decisions to ban books in school libraries and classrooms in the United… More
Report: 1,586 School Book Bans and Restrictions in 86 School Districts Across 26 States
Book bans have targeted 1,145 unique book titles by 874 different authors, 198 illustrators, and 9 translators, impacting the literary, scholarly, and creative work of 1,081 people altogether. Texas… More