New Report: 2,500+ Book Bans Across 32 States During 2021-22 School Year
“While we think of book bans as the work of individual concerned citizens, our report demonstrates that today's wave of bans represents a coordinated campaign to banish books being… More
Letter to the Burbank Unified School District
PEN America urges the Burbank Unified School District to rescind its policy which prohibits any instructional materials with the "N-word'' from being used as mandatory reading. More
Q&A with Burbank Unified School District Students
To make Black literature only accessible to students taking advanced courses narrows the amount of students that are able to have the in-classroom reading experience with the guidance of… More
For First Time, Oklahoma Education Officials Punish Two School Districts for Violating Gag Order on Teaching Race and Gender
“This case demonstrates the dangerous chilling effect gag orders can have,” said Jeremy C. Young, senior manager for free expression and education at PEN America and author of the… More
America’s Censored Classrooms
This year, proposed educational gag orders have increased 250 percent compared to 2021. More
Educational Gag Order Proposals Spike by 250% in 2022, PEN America Reports
“Our report documents in alarming detail the threats to how young people learn and are taught in American schools,” said Suzanne Nossel, Chief Executive Officer of PEN America. “Lawmakers… More
New Op-Ed Series Focused on the Freedom to Learn to Launch in Washington Post’s ‘Made by History’ Section
“We’re excited to partner with the Washington Post’s Made by History to support high-quality, well-researched analysis by professional historians on the unprecedented threats to our education system,” said Jeremy… More
Failed Bill Brought by Arizona Democrats Would Have Restricted What Teachers Can Teach
"Had HB 2634 become law, Arizona teachers might have been unable to assign materials that depict historical or literary instances of discrimination to educate students about why discrimination is… More
5 Myths about Educational Gag Orders
The legislators behind these gag orders are not interested in a productive back-and-forth with educators; what they want is simply to dictate the terms of teachers’ surrender. More
Fireproof Edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale Sells for $130,000 at Auction, with Proceeds to Benefit PEN America
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said: “We are thrilled and grateful to Margaret for her wondrous idea to support our fight against this unprecedented and spreading censorship. This imaginative… More
Support for the freedom to read with exclusive designs by Todd Parr, Mike Curato, Art Spiegelman, and more!
