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
Q and A with Assistant Principal Toby Price, Fired by MS School After Reading “I Need a New Butt” to 2nd Graders
Toby Price, an assistant principal in the Hinds County (MS) School District, was fired on March 4 after reading a book to a group of 2nd graders over Zoom.… More
The PEN Pod: On Belarus, Hong Kong, and Free Speech Rights for Students
“We’ve come to recognize how vitally important it is to educated young people on free speech rights, and that isn’t being systematically done.” More
Joint Statement on Legislative Efforts to Restrict Education about Racism and American History
PEN America joins higher education groups in opposing legislation that seeks to ban discussions of racism and related issues in American history in schools. More
Idaho Bill Attacking Critical Race Theory is Affront to Academic Freedom
This bill claims to defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry, and freedom of speech. In reality, it tramples on them. More
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I’m heading to Florida for this. We all need to be speaking out against book banning, censorship, erasure, and eliminationism. https://twitter.com/splcenter/status/1637514283952005122
Let Florida Read!
Join us Tuesday in Tally as we celebrate our constitutional right to read alongside amazing authors, students, educators of @FloridaMediaEd, @PENamerica, @diversebooks, @splcenter, @DemocracyFwd, & @EveryLibrary.
Register:
https://www.fftrp.org/let_florida_read_event
Literature knows no frontiers. Yet books today are under profound attack. I'm joining @PENAmerica in the fight to defend the freedom to read. Sign and share this petition to show your support for diverse literature and writers across the country. https://bit.ly/33MOt24?source=twitter&