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
Letter to Hinds County School District Regarding Termination of Assistant Principal Toby Price
PEN America today sent a follow up letter to the officials of the Hinds County School District, concerning the ongoing adjudication of the decision to terminate former Gary Road… 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
PEN America & FIRE Object to New Restrictions of Free Expression for Mississippi Professors
Today, PEN America and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) sent a joint letter to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Education Board of Trustees (IHL) opposing recent changes to… 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
Educational Gag Orders In Your Community: A Tip Sheet for Changing the Conversation
Here are a few steps you can take to help change the conversation about educational gag orders in your community. 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
PEN America Letter to Hinds County (MS) School District
To the Officials of the Hinds County School District, We write from PEN America, the literary and free expression human rights organization, to register alarm over your recent decision to… More
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Entertainment Weekly (@EW) asked LGBTQ authors to pick books by other queer authors that bring them joy. https://ew.com/books/lgbtq-books-queer-joy-celebrating-art/
What are the 25 most influential New York novels published between 1921 and 2021? @nytimes judges share their top picks, including PEN America president @ayadakhtar’s HOMELAND ELEGIES! https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/t-magazine/new-york-city-novels-books.html
Is it true that since K-12 teachers don’t have free speech rights in the classroom, educational gag orders don’t raise any Constitutional concerns? Here are 5 popular myths about educational gag orders debunked by PEN America: https://bit.ly/3n9QviZ.
