For Educational Gag Orders, The Vagueness Is The Point
We find that instead of clarifying the laws, guidance documents have muddied the waters, further eroding academic freedom and students’ right to learn. More
Conservatives Oppose Educational Gag Orders, Too
Casual observers of the recent wave of educational gag orders could be forgiven for thinking that views on this issue are perfectly polarized along ideological lines. Conservatives support these… More
Educational Gag Orders Seek to Enforce Compulsory Patriotism
Three New Bills Become Law in Florida, Mississippi, and South Dakota Monthly Roundup, March This post is part of a series from PEN America tracking the progress of educational gag orders… More
These 4 Florida Bills Censor Classroom Subjects and Ideas
These bills have been the subject of much public commentary, including an unfortunate amount of misinformation. To cut through the confusion, PEN America explains below the salient features of… More
Online Conversation March 16 on Access to Books in Prisons and the Use of E-Readers
With 2 million people in prisons and jails across the country, restricting reading could have profound ramifications for the men and women cycled through the criminal legal system and… More
Educational Gag Orders Target Speech about LGBTQ+ Identities With New Prohibitions and Punishments
The effort to censor anti-LGBTQ identities in the classroom is expanding rapidly. More
In Higher Education, New Educational Gag Orders Would Exert Unprecedented Control Over College Teaching
In 2022, educational gag orders are being aimed squarely at colleges and universities to exert ideological control over what is being taught and read in classrooms. More
Steep Rise in Gag Orders, Many Sloppily Drafted
Over the last three weeks, 65 bills have been formally introduced in state legislatures across the country, a rate of roughly three bills per day. More
Open Letter to the School Board of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District
PEN America urges the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District not to pass the “Resolution Opposing the Teaching of Critical Race Theory.” More