India Rewrites its Past in School Textbooks to Suit Ruling Party’s Worldview
“The Modi government’s educational censorship via the rewriting of school textbooks is alarming,” said Nadine Farid Johnson, Managing Director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs. “Coming on… More
Florida Book Bans: Why Are There Empty Shelves in Florida Schools?
You may have seen pictures of empty bookshelves in Florida classrooms, or heard about book bans across the state. What’s happening now is that new laws passed last year in… More
Spiegelman, Atwood Among Signers of PEN America Letter Against Missouri Book Bans
Art Spiegelman, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, Lois Lowry, Roxane Gay, Rupi Kaur, and Alison Bechdel are among the authors and illustrators who signed a PEN America open letter protesting… 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
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
Suspending Access to Library App Epic! Disregards Students First Amendment Rights, Says PEN America
Suspending access to 40,000 books without adherence to appropriate process, and with utter disregard for the First Amendment rights of the tens of thousands of students impacted, is a… 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