Joint Statement from PEN America, AAC&U: Legislative Restrictions on Teaching and Learning Violate Academic Freedom and Threaten Higher Ed’s Autonomy
“Legislators who attack the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of students and faculty are waging war against open inquiry itself,” said Suzanne Nossel, chief executive officer of PEN America. 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
New Stop W.O.K.E. Act Fits Disturbing Pattern in Education Culture War
Governor DeSantis’s Stop W.O.K.E. Act, while undoubtedly aggressive, is no aberration. On the contrary, it is increasingly—and disturbingly—business as usual. More
Scope and Speed of Educational Gag Orders Worsening Across the Country
In the month since the release of our report, educational gag orders have grown more sweeping in scope and become law with increasing speed. More
Here Are Four Things Educational Gag Orders Could Ban
We offer illustrative examples of texts, documents, and discourse that educational gag orders could bar from being taught or discussed in classrooms. More
The PEN Pod: On Authoritarianism, Abortion Restrictions, and Protecting the Freedom to Learn
“They are people who deserve our support, who’ve been working as human rights defenders inside their countries, who now are faced with the loss of their livelihood.” More
The PEN Pod: Challenging and Critiquing White Feminism with Koa Beck
“A broader initiative that needs to be taken. . . is teaching marginalized genders. . . We have cis women, trans women, nonbinary people, trans men, gender-variant people, two-spirit,… More
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PEN America On 
I really liked this #BannedBooksWeek display in the Teen Area. The display includes a printout of the full latest PEN America report: https://pen.org/report/banned-usa-growing-movement-to-censor-books-in-schools/
Our recent #BannedInTheUSA report found that nearly 1/2 banned titles were #YA books, but bans also included 317 picture books and 168 chapter books.
96% of bans were enacted without following the best practice guidelines outlined by @ALALibrary and @ncacensorship. #BannedBooks
“Young people of the world are my children, and I think we should all think that way.”
We think author @BenjaminASaenz may actually have the secrets of the universe. #VelshiBannedBookClub #Velshi
http://ow.ly/ouSN50KZ9Ph