Children's Books discussion
Banned Books: discussions, lists
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Discussion of censorship, equity, and other concerns.
An anti-book ban bill as it relates to public schools has been introduced in Colorado. There’s also a bill that would make the names of those seeking to ban books public record.https://www.9news.com/article/news/po...
Dallas Center-Grimes School District (IA) has had two book challenges in the high school and because of impropriety in the original review committee, a new one has been appointed by the district’s superintendent. It was one parent who challenged two required readings in the school, and those books are American Born Chinese and the second is called I Was Their American Dream.https://www.weareiowa.com/article/new...
he Dallas Center-Grimes School District is starting over with its reconsideration committee after it says protocols weren’t followed. In a heated discussion on Monday, the school board voted unanimously to appoint six new members to the seven-member committee.
The committee, made up of unpaid positions, is responsible for reviewing book challenges filed by parents or guardians in the district.
The committee was officially assembled in December when a parent challenged two required readings for her high schooler. Superintendent Dr. Scott Blum claims this was the first book challenge at any level of education he’s seen in his 18 months with the district.
He said after that review that the committee was disbanded because the expectations weren’t adhered to. But he did not go into much more detail publicly.
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Several school board members raised concerns over transparency with the last committee’s review process. The committee got to decide for themselves how they wanted meetings to run, they voted privately and the book titles were never shared publicly.
The six new committee members were selected by the superintendent. They’re made up of two licensed school employees, one teacher-librarian and three community members. A district administrator serves as the seventh member.
“What level is the librarian on the proposed reconsideration committee?” school board member Dickinson asked.
“Elementary,” Dr. Blum responded.
“And we’ve had how many challenges to elementary books?” Dickinson asked.
“None,” Dr. Blum answered.
Some school board members hinted that they wanted to review district policy over the reconsideration committee. Dr. Blum said changes can be introduced at any future school board meeting.
A Facebook post from the Wandering Racoon Bookstore has been circulating around claiming the Dallas Center-Grimes School District was trying to ban two books about immigration. The first is called “American Born Chinese” and the second is called “I Was Their American Dream.”
However, Local 5 confirmed with a district spokesperson that no books are currently being challenged.
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EveryLibrary has..."
So I guess someone who is intersex just does not exist for Trump?
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EveryLibrary has..."
So if libraries etc. still celebrate Black History Month, will the participants and organisers be arrested?
Manybooks wrote: "So if libraries etc. still celebrate Black History Month, will the participants and organisers be arrested?"I suspect there's one rule for Trump, who today sent out something lauding Tiger Woods, a supporter, for Black History Month, and everyone else. My guess is yes.
Manybooks wrote: "So if libraries etc. still celebrate Black History Month, will the participants and organisers be arrested?""
I don't believe so but I think it's a matter of federal funding. All non-white holidays/months created after the 1950s have been cancelled for federal employees. As usual the rules are vague. What does no DEI MEAN? To the White, Christian Nationalist, it means not hiring a person of color over them just because that person happens to be Black or Brown or whatever. That's not what DEI IS. They can't even define any of the things they object to, as we have seen from the "Critical Race Theory" book broo-ha-ha! Everyone is confused and wondering what happens next.
North Dakota librarians voice concerns over bill on materials accessible to childrenGroup says existing policies already protect children from inappropriate materials.
https://www.jamestownsun.com/news/nor...
Kelly Jensen of BookRiot summarizes: "Librarians across North Dakota are raising concerns about Senate Bill 2307, which they say is unnecessary and could negatively impact public libraries. The proposed bill would update current obscenity laws to include public libraries and schools. It mandates that materials deemed “sexually explicit” must be made inaccessible to minors.” This is another criminalize the librarians bill over materials that DO NOT EXIST IN SCHOOL OR PUBLIC LIBRARIES."
KansasKelly Jensen reveals (Paywalled) "Book crisis actors showed up to the Lawrence School Board (KS) meeting to give dramatic performances of books they deem inappropriate for students."
https://www2.ljworld.com/news/schools...
Also from the Literary Activism newsletter"Another attempt to pass a voucher scheme is on the docket in the Texas legislature. Texas has failed to pass one before because, well, there is a lot of pride in small-town Texas schools, especially in rural parts of the state where there are no other educational options. But hey, these vouchers would allow the rich to get richer and the schools that need financial help would be further harmed for that reason.
The three new appointees for the Corpus Cristi Public Library (TX) board are actually not new faces, but they are all representatives of the part of the board which has voted against book bans and censorship in the library. This is some good news."
https://click.e.bookriot.com/?qs=95c1...
Scary stuff out of South Carolina.Kelly Jensen reports: "The Greenville School Board (SC) wants to implement a book ratings system not just in their schools. They want one created for all books and they want it created by the Library of Congress. This board has a history of banning books and of banning book fairs.
https://www.foxcarolina.com/2025/01/2...
t was packed house for Tuesday’s Greenville County School Board meeting —
Several topics were up for discussion including a move to add stricter regulations to library books.
Book rating system headed to statehouse?
School board leaders are looking to move forward with creating a book rating system for all schools.
“On a movie, TV show, video games, they’re all rated for content and appropriateness,” said Board member, Chuck Saylors.” Can you not do the same thing for the printed word?”
Saylors says the idea of a rating system sparked years ago as concerns and complaints about children’s books became the hot topic in Greenville.
Greenville’s school board drafted a resolution, requesting the Library of Congress to create a uniform system for publishers to rate books--based on content, language and violence.
The plan is for it to include books distributed to all school and teacher libraries across the country.
“So that our students, our teachers and their families, the parents and the families of the students could best decide what is appropriate for the student,” Saylors explained.
But it must start with the South Carolina legislature. Greenville trustees recently sought support from the state school board association. They couldn’t agree and tabled it for discussion in December. Unwilling to wait, Greenville trustees are taking the next step. The natural next step is asking Congressman Timmons and now Congresswoman Biggs, to support this, which we will do,” he said.
Also from Literary ActivismCatawba County Schools (NC) are debating how to handle complaints over books used in curriculum now.
https://hickoryrecord.com/news/local/...
ome Catawba County Schools leaders want to change how the school board handles parent objections to classroom and curriculum books.
Currently, if instructional material are challenged by a parent and a decision made on the challenge appealed to the school board, a unanimous vote is required to overturn the decision. Some Catawba County Schools Board of Education members want to require a majority vote instead.
The Catawba County Schools Board of Education debated the policy, and several others related to book challenges, at its work session on Monday morning.
Policy 3.6100, “Parental Inspection and Objection to Instructional Materials” was discussed.
The policy has been in effect since December 2001 and allows parents to submit objections to classroom books to the school principal. The principal may then create a committee to review the objection.
The decision of the principal or committee can be appealed to the superintendent, according to the policy, and the superintendent’s decision can be appealed to the school board.
An amendment in September 2024 changed the policy so if the objection reaches the school board, the board’s vote must be unanimous to overturn the superintendent’s decision.
Board Chairman Tim Settlemyre wants to change that.
“I think this needs to be returned to a majority decision by the board,” Settlemyre said.
Leslie Barnette
Barnette
Board member Leslie Barnette suggested the amendment at a June 2024 meeting. It was later approved in a 4-3 vote at the September meeting.
Barnette said the reason behind her suggested change was that, “we have several policies, including the one we’re looking at, … that (say) that we are a policy-making board, and that decisions regarding curriculum materials, we leave to our educational professionals. In the case of instructional materials, those professionals are our district committee, and the district committee has the right — in fact they’re charged by us — to read the book, (and) make recommendations … to us.”
Barnette said if the board’s decision is different than the district committee’s, the board is going against its own policy. So, if the school board is going to go against the committee, it should be a unanimous decision, Barnette said.
“This unanimous decision takes away the power of the board and returns it to one person,” Settlemyre said.
Barnette argued that it does not and asked what one person it gives the power to.
“Of course it’d be you on this board, right?” Settlemyre said.
Settlemyre said he would like to have meetings where all board members can decide instead of just one.
“Well, ‘all’ is unanimous, Mr. Settlemyre,” Barnette said.
Board members Michelle Teague and Don Sigmon agreed that the policy should change back to being a majority vote. Vice Chairman Clayton Mullis also voiced his agreement, stating that there is no board or committee he has served on where the vote is required to be unanimous.
Scary news from North DakotaFlyers about book prompt Valley City library board response
Anonymous flyers about a library book led to Valley City trustees to urge the public to follow proper channels for item reconsideration requests.
https://www.inforum.com/news/north-da...
PAYWALLED
Kelly Jensen states:
"On Jan. 7, anonymous flyers were distributed around Valley City, criticizing a book in the library’s adult non-fiction section. The flyers coincided with the first day of the 2025 legislative Session.” Someone or someones using the Valley City Public Library (ND) are fanning the flames of censorship over an adult nonfiction book. "
Utah Iron Co. School District reviewing policy for handing sensitive materials in schools
https://kjzz.com/news/local/iron-co-s...
The Iron County School District is reviewing a newly proposed policy for handling library and supplemental materials, aligning with requirements set by H.B. 374.
The legislation, now part of Utah Code, outlines criteria for addressing sensitive materials in schools.
Tim Marriott, the district's counseling and student services coordinator, has worked to adapt the state's framework into district-specific policy.
"This policy provides clarity to what happens when a challenge is brought forth, whether for sensitive or indecent materials," district spokesperson Shauna Lund said.
According to Lund, the policy expands beyond library materials and books — applying to classroom supplemental materials and even guest speakers.
"Curriculum already goes through a committee review process, but there are other materials that are within a classroom," Lund said.
The policy outlines a process for challenging materials. Sensitive materials, defined by the state code as anything "p---graphic," undergo an initial review and, if found to meet the definitions, are immediately removed from circulation while under further review.
"Sensitive materials are clearly defined by law, and if any of the three criteria are met, they’re automatically removed from the school," Lund said.
Those three criteria include material that (view spoiler)
Non-sensitive materials are reviewed by a committee that includes a school administrator, three teachers, and a parent representing the school and community’s values. If materials are found to be inappropriate or not of "literary, artistic, political, or scientific value," they can be deselected.
Materials can also be deselected for not being age-appropriate, encouraging stereotypes or biases, outdated information, or because it receives little use. This decision may be appealed to the Utah State Board of Education.
Committees must read the materials in full before making any determinations.
The proposed policy is also taking steps to ensure fairness in the process. Committee members cannot include the challenger, someone involved in the material’s initial selection, or those who participated in previous reviews.
"This gives checks and balances, with different representations from across the district involved," Lund said.
Lund emphasized the district’s proactive approach, noting that Iron County schools have rarely faced challenges in the past. She said this is due to the careful material selection to begin with and staff training.
*SIGH* Keep fighting, parents!https://www.staugustine.com/story/new...
Florida judge rules against book ban-opposed parents alleging censorship, discrimination
A federal judge [appointed by you know who] has dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Florida government of discriminating against those opposed to the surge of school library book removals across the state.
A 2023 law and its implementing regulations created a state process for parents to appeal when a school board decides to keep their challenged books on the shelves. But that process doesn't extend to parents who want to contest a school board's decision to remove a book.
Parents of public school students sued, arguing to U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor that the inconsistency violated the First Amendment, penalizing them based on viewpoint.
In a Monday order, Winsor – who was appointed by President Donald Trump and took the bench in 2019 – dismissed the case. He gave the plaintiffs the option to file an amended complaint in two weeks but added that it's "unlikely any amendment will cure the defects."
A big defect, Winsor wrote, is that the process is "available only to parents who had their own objection denied, making any exclusion based on a speaker’s status, not his viewpoint."
"Although it is unlawful for local districts to retain prohibited books, it is not unlawful for them to exclude books that are not prohibited," he also said. "Thus, it makes sense that the State Review Process does not offer parents wanting books retained an opportunity to appeal or otherwise access the process."
Florida Freedom to Read Project, one of Florida's most-outspoken book access organizations, has since criticized the order.
"This decision, as well as the federal Department of Education's announcement that they will no longer investigate complaints of discriminatory censorship, are very troubling as a select few are given the privilege to redefine what materials are 'appropriate' for all our children," said Raegan Miller, the group's director of development and finance, in a statement.
She's referring to how the U.S. Department of Education under Trump announced it was ending "Biden's book ban hoax," dismissing 11 complaints about book removals. DeSantis himself has used the same language to describe book removals in public schools, even as Florida leads the nation in them.
"For the 95% of parents that haven’t limited student access in the library, where and when do we get to have a say in what’s appropriate?' Miller continued.
The Florida Freedom to Read Project isn't the only group unhappy with the decision.
"The decision to dismiss the case is disappointing, and we are considering how to proceed," said Keisha Mulfort, a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, in a statement.
The ACLU of Florida had joined advocacy groups Democracy Forward and the Southern Poverty Law Center in representing the parent plaintiffs: Anne Watts Tressler and Nancy Tray of St. Johns County and Stephana Ferrell of Orange County.
Winsor rebuffed the state's government speech argument. Under the government speech doctrine, the government has the right to promote its own views without being required to provide equal time or a platform for opposing views.
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"Defendants argue that the book removals constitute government speech, meaning the First Amendment is not implicated," wrote Winsor. "Plaintiffs challenge their inability to access the State Review Process to offer their own speech; they do not challenge any book-removal decisions in this litigation."
The White House is celebrating Black History Month while the Defense Department cancelled it. I don't think ONE month should be set aside for learning a particular history but I know that's not their intent. More censorship news ahead from this week's Literary Activism Newsletter.
Concerning news from Texas. Texas county challenges First Amendment ruling on library book bans in 5th Circuit hearing
https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-coun...
For 30 years, the precedent set in Campbell v. St. Tammany Parish School Board court ruling has barred government officials and librarians in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana from removing books “simply because they dislike the ideas within them.”
On behalf of a Texas county on Tuesday, high-profile conservative attorney Jonathan Mitchell asked all 17 judges on the federal 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to discard that ruling, arguing that library content decisions are “government speech, immune from First Amendment scrutiny.”
Republican attorneys general of 17 states have put their weight behind this argument in a case involving Llano County, which was sued by seven public library patrons in 2021 for what the plaintiffs allege were unconstitutional removals of 17 books. Mitchell ceded some of his argument time to Florida Solicitor General Henry Whitaker on Tuesday.
If the 5th Circuit Court judges agree, the case will likely go the U.S. Supreme Court — with the potential to affect public and school libraries across the country.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs and several civil rights groups say a ruling in Mitchell's favor would allow groups in power to pass laws discriminating against minority groups and ideas, turning libraries from "institutions of knowledge" into "political institutions."
The plaintiffs also argued such a ruling would open the floodgates for challenges to other decisions based on First Amendment jurisprudence.
"Unlike the First Amendment, which has been written into the Constitution for 233 years, the government speech doctrine is a judge-made rule of relatively recent vintage," Ryan Borden, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in court. "When you have it being used to do the things that the First Amendment doesn't allow — discriminate by viewpoint, suppress unpopular ideas — ... the doctrine has to give way."
Mitchell, however, argued that the precedent barring viewpoint-based book removals is wrong because the government has "no constitutional obligation" to provide residents with libraries or include certain books in its collection.
The hearing comes 18 months after an Austin U.S. District Court judge ordered Llano County to restore the 17 books that it removed in response to a campaign launched by a small group of residents. ...
The county appealed the ruling. After a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit found that the removals of eight books were motivated by a desire to “suppress the ideas within them,” partially upholding the lower court's ruling, Mitchell requested a rehearing. Llano County’s case is one of fewer than 10 cases to be reheard by the full court each year, according to court statistics.
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In August, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the argument that the government-speech doctrine applies in a case over an Iowa law banning books depicting sex acts. A 5th Circuit ruling to the contrary would set up a circuit split, making the Supreme Court more likely to step in and settle the debate, Corn-Revere said.
Leila Green Little, a mom and longtime Llano resident who is the lead plaintiff in the case, told the Statesman that the plaintiffs originally brought the lawsuit to uphold constitutional rights, specifically the First Amendment.
"We want our library to go back to being a place where all of Llano County's citizens have the ability to find books on a variety of topics that appeal to them," Green Little wrote in an email interview. "We want parents, not the government, to decide what their children and young adults get to read."
Matt Rienstra, first attorney of the Llano County Attorney's Office, told the Statesman that officials are continuing to fight the lawsuit because they feel previous decisions in the case are unclear and could cause further litigation over book removals.
"Our librarian, and I think librarians across the state and throughout the 5th Circuit, probably need some guidance as to prevent these issues from arising and interrupting," Rienstra said in an in-person interview ahead of the hearing. "The libraries are a wonderful place for people to meet and not to be having arguments about things like this."
Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham echoed that sentiment in the same interview.
"The courts need to give us some guidance," Cunningham said. "We need a road map on how to operate."
LeEllen Condry, the former dean of students at Elizabeth Middle School (CO) is filing a lawsuit against the district (which removed several books and are currently being sued for that) because she was fired after saying she was not in favor of the book removal plan.https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/20...
Finally, Kelly Jensen writes:"
“The board overseeing Colorado’s Woodland Park School District approved a resolution recognizing “only two sexes” during a contentious meeting Wednesday night — a move that comes as President Donald Trump has broadly rolled back protections for transgender people in the first two weeks of his second administration.”
https://www.lamarledger.com/2025/01/2...
This will 100% lead to book removals. That’s not the main thrust of it, nor are those book removals the target, but it’s vital to understand all of this anti-trans legislation will mean LGBTQ+ books will also be banned.
Texas = AuthoritarianElected County Judge Fires Montgomery County Memorial Public Library Director
Rhea Young is the latest Texas librarian to lose her job after standing up for the freedom to read.
https://www.txftrp.org/politics_above...
After several years of Montgomery County Memorial Public Library and librarians being subjected to slander, doxing and harassment by politicians and activists calling for the restriction and removal of diverse and inclusive books- especially age relevant children's and young adult books that center LGBTQ+ and BIPOC perspectives- the County Commissioners voted to appoint one of their own- the elected County Judge Mark Keough- as the director of the public library system. Judge Keough proceeded to immediately terminate the employment of Montgomery County's library director- Rhea Young.
The new boss of the Montgomery County Library System- elected County Judge Mark Keough- has made no secret of his contempt for books that contain ideas and content he finds objectionable. During the Commissioner's Court meeting in July 2023, he stated, "All these sexual-oriented books ... need to be in the adult section," Keough said. "If you don't put an age on it, we're not really solving any of the issues with the younger kids having access to these materials."
AMontgomery County mom who calls herself "Two Moms and Some Books" has been fighting to get relocated from the children's section- to the "Parenting Section" restricted to patrons under 18 years of age. She been calling for the restriction and relocation of books that center affirming and inclusive messages by and about LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people for years. Not only has she been calling for the removal of books containing these kinds of stories and themes from the children's section of the public library- she has demanded that more "conservative" books be added.
Advocates for the freedom to read in Montgomery County- like Village Books owner, Teresa Kenney, have been warning for years that the Commissioner's Court's decisions to cave to the demands of the activists calling for the restriction and removal of diverse and inclusive books, will result in the silencing and erasure of people who share the challenged books' perspectives, stories and experiences.
Last year, the Montgomery County Commissioner's Court voted to remove professional librarians from the majority of reconsideration committees that oversee and make decisions about the outcomes of books challenged by community members- and instead replaced them with five members of the public who serve as politically appointed representatives for each of the county commissioners.
Shortly after that decision, the politically appointed citizens review committee proceeded to recategorize a juvenile non-fiction book, Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs, as juvenile fiction. After local and nationwide outcry and protest, the committee's action was reversed, and the book was returned to the correct juvenile non-fiction classification- but the damage any credibility that the citizens review committee may have had was done. The Commissioners Court placed the Reconsideration Policy under revision, yet again.
The most recent move for the Montgomery County Commissioner's Court to appoint Judge Keough to oversee the public library is exactly the kind of politically motivated take over that local advocates have been warning about- and that local activists who oppose the inclusion of age relevant diverse and inclusive stories and perspectives have been fighting for.
Utah has banned 2 more books state wide.BookRiot's Kelly Jensen reports:
https://bookriot.com/category/literar...
Utah passed one of the strictest bills related to books in public schools last year. House Bill 29 (HB 29) allows parents to challenge books they deem “sensitive material” and it also outright bans books from all public schools in the state if those books have been deemed “objective sensitive material” or “p---graphic” per state code in at least three public school districts or two public school districts and five charter schools statewide. The bill went into effect July 1, 2024, and it started with 13 titles on it.
The bill is retroactive, meaning that titles which met the state’s guidelines prior to the bill’s start date were included on the list. Per HB 29, any time a public or charter school removes a book deemed “sensitive material,” they must notify the State Board of Education. If that book meets the threshold of removals, all schools will be notified and expected to dispose of it.
What is important to understand about the law is that despite claims this is about “local control,” schools in the state are forced to follow the decisions made in other districts. There are 42 public school districts in Utah, but two districts account for nearly 80% of the books banned statewide: Davis School District and Washington School District. Davis and Washington were among the districts that led to Damsel and Like A Love Story being added to the list.
Late last month, Utah’s State Board of Education also further clarified the law as it applies to students. No students are allowed to bring their own personal or public library copies of any of the state’s banned books onto school campuses. Student freedom to even carry these books to class for their own free reading is against the law. The state goes so far as to issue guidance for how local educational agencies can approach students who bring any of the above 16 books to school.
These laws do not apply to private or homeschool institutions. That’s intentional.
If and when the Department of Education is eliminated under the new administration, expect to see more state departments of education implementing similar book ban lists under the guise of “local control.”
OBVIOUSLY the news is not good but if you want to know, here are some latest developments.Education officials dismiss nationwide book ban complaints that originated in Georgia
The U.S. Department of Education called the national battle against book bans — which started with a complaint about one of Georgia’s largest school systems — a “hoax” in the days after Donald Trump was sworn in as president. It recently dismissed 11 federal complaints on the topic.
“Because this is a question of parental and community judgement, not civil rights, OCR has no role in these matters,” a news release from the U.S. Department of Education stated, referring to its Office of Civil Rights.
https://www.ajc.com/education/educati...
PAYWALLED
ACLU sues on behalf of librarian fired after opposing book censorship effort https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...
Patty Hector lost job after being targeted by campaign urging restriction of books with race and LGBTQ+ themes
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Monday on behalf of an Arkansas librarian who was fired after she spoke out against efforts to restrict the public’s access to certain books.
The ACLU of Arkansas filed the lawsuit on behalf of the former Saline county library director Patty Hector, who was fired in 2023 after being targeted by a campaign that objected to some of the books on shelves. The Saline county judge Matt Brumley, who fired Hector ... is a defendant in the lawsuit ...
“I could not stay silent as calls for censorship targeted marginalized communities and undermined our library’s mission,” Hector said in a statement released by the ACLU of Arkansas. “Losing my job was devastating, but I refuse to let these actions go unchallenged.”
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Hector was fired after a group called the Saline County Republican Women began a campaign urging the censorship of books that touched on race or LGBTQ+ themes. Hector spoke out against a resolution the quorum court, the county’s governing board, passed calling for such books to be moved to areas not accessible by children.
The quorum court later passed an ordinance taking away the library board’s authority to hire and fire library staff, instead giving that power to the county judge. Brumley fired Hector less than two months later.
The lawsuit accuses Brumley and the county of violating Hector’s first amendment rights and asks that the ordinance taking away the library board’s hiring and firing authority be struck down as unconstitutional.
“Ms Hector was fired for defending the right to read freely and for refusing to let political pressure dictate the operation of a public library,” John Williams, ACLU of Arkansas’s legal director, said in a statement. “Retaliation against her for speaking out on these critical issues is not only unconstitutional – it’s an attack on the principles of free expression and access to information that public libraries stand for.”
The lawsuit also seeks back pay and compensatory damages. According to the complaint, Hector has required therapy to cope with the emotional distress caused by the retaliation against her over her opposition to censoring books.
Publishers, Authors Guild, and More File Lawsuit Against Idaho’s Discriminatory Book Banning Billhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1FQ0L...
Thanks to Kelly Jensen of BookRiot for sharing this story:
Penguin Random House, alongside Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks have filed a lawsuit against Idaho’s House Bill 710. In addition to the slate of publisher plaintiffs, several others have joined in the complaint, including the Authors Guild; bestselling authors Malinda Lo, David Levithan, and Dashka Slater; the Donnelly Public Library District; a teacher; two students; and two parents.
The lawsuit specifically targets the book removal provisions of HB 710.
Idaho’s HB 710 allows parents or guardians to lodge complaints against materials they deem inappropriate for minors. Once a complaint has been filed, public and school libraries have 60 days to relocate the material to a section that is only accessible to adults. If they do not comply, those parents or guardians can receive $250 in statutory damages from the library in question, alongside other financial relief for damages.
“Libraries should be for everyone. We foster learning, provide resources, inspire creativity, and support our patrons,” said Sherry Scheline, Director, Donnelly Public Library, in a press release about the lawsuit in which her library is a plaintiff. “As a result of HB 710, our programming—which includes the only option for after-school care in Donnelly—has been severely impacted, with children unable to step inside the building to use the bathroom or keep warm without a complex waiver. Our circulation has also declined significantly. In essence, it has become impossible to fulfill our purpose of serving the Donnelly community.”
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HB 710 makes zero distinction between babies and 17 year olds, meaning that books are simply classified as harmful for minors. It does not bother considering that the intellectual capacity and needs of a three-year-old differ from those of a 16-year-old. This has led to adult fiction–including classics–and adult nonfiction–often used for research papers and general educational purposes–to be banned for high schoolers.
“Idaho 710 goes even further than previous laws by removing classic books from public libraries in addition to schools,” said Dan Novack, VP, Associate General Counsel at Penguin Random House in a press release.
The lawsuit notes that the provisions of HB 710 violate both the First and Fourteenth Amendment Rights of citizens to access materials through threatening legal punishment toward libraries which purchase and circulate those materials.
“Make no mistake, book bans are real and their damage is profound,” added Novack. “We are honored to support the brave Idahoans challenging this dangerous law. This is the third state-level challenge our publisher-led coalition has filed, demonstrating our shared commitment to protecting the First Amendment rights of authors, educators, readers, and all Americans.”
Another day of the train wreck.EveryLibrary reports:
The Trump administration has begun drafting an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education.
They have already started dismantling the Department of Education by gutting the Office for Civil Rights and voiding all the book ban investigations.
This E.O. would negatively impact school libraries and literacy rates among children.
The Department of Education's Innovative Approaches to Literacy grants to school libraries are the only source of federal funding to help schools—especially chronically underfunded schools—obtain funds for school library collections.
The IAL program helps to develop and improve literacy skills for children and students from birth through 12th grade in high-need local schools.
The move would order the Secretary of Education to create a plan to diminish the department through executive action and push for Congress to pass legislation to end the department.
This year, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, is simultaneously targeting the Education Department.
We need you to take action and send an email today.
https://www.saveschoollibrarians.org/...
Then, please help us reach more people like you by sharing the petition on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
EveryLibrary
https://www.everylibrary.org/
The library system in Kootenai County, Idaho pulled 140 books from its shelves to review for its adults-only roomhttps://www.spokesman.com/stories/202...
The Community Library Network is sifting through 140 books that could be among the first titles added to its mature content collection to be held in a room accessible only by adults at the Post Falls Library. The Spokesman-Review obtained the full list of titles through a public records request. The records did not clarify how many copies of those titles exist in the catalog or which library branches held them. The majority of the books are young adult novels.
The mature content collection policy, approved by the library board on Jan. 16, is meant to help the library comply with a new Idaho law that went into effect last summer and to protect children under 18 from obscene materials that could be harmful to them.
Critics say the board is going beyond what the law requires and is keeping books relevant for kids and teens out of their hands.
In a news release Friday, Library Director Martin Walters said it is common practice for libraries to categorize books in different collections in separate rooms. For example, the children’s and teen’s collections at Post Falls Library already have their own rooms.
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The mature collection policy directs staff to immediately begin preparing a room first at the Post Falls Library, then at the Hayden Library. In previous board meetings, Walters indicated that there is not enough space at the smaller branches for a separate room. The library network has other branches in Athol, Harrison, Pinehurst, Rathdrum and Spirit Lake.
Children under 18 can only enter the room with a parent, the policy says, and parents must follow the Idaho law.
The law requires libraries to relocate “materials harmful to minors to an area with adult access only” within 60 days of a minor or their parent or legal guardian requesting the material be relocated.
“Harmful to minors” is defined as any work containing (view spoiler)
In addition to the 140 titles, the library has received formal requests from patrons to relocate another 17 titles to the mature content collection. The Bible, specifically any version with Genesis 19, was among them.
At least 12 of those books were “deemed harmful to minors” under the law by library officials and were approved for the collection, records show. Because of redactions, it is not clear exactly which of the 17 books were approved.
Library Board Chair Rachelle Ottosen said in an email the biggest misunderstanding about the policy is that the board is banning books it doesn’t like.
“We are merely moving books within the library system that meet the legal definition of harmful to minors,” Ottosen wrote. “Moving doesn’t qualify as banning. They will still be available for adults, or parents who want them for their children. Not liking the book content does not meet the legal threshold.”
Asked if she thought there was ever any value for teenagers to grapple with mature content, Ottosen said “there is no legal justification for libraries to make p----graphic materials available to minors. Parents can check out whatever books they wish, and share with their own children as they feel appropriate.”
The administrator behind Clean Books 4 Kids, a website that has advocated for the removal of specific books from North Idaho libraries, declined to be interviewed.
Besides young adult novels, the 140 books include some adult novels, several graphic novels and several nonfiction books about sexuality and consent geared for teens.
The author with the most books on the list is Ellen Hopkins, with nine titles including “Glass” and “People Kill People.” Hopkins’ works, which frequently appear on most-banned books lists, focus on teens dealing with difficult subjects like drugs, s-x trafficking and suicide.
“I write where my readers live, and teens experience those things every day,” Hopkins wrote in a column for the ACLU of South Carolina. “I write truthfully because I respect their intellect, curiosity, and sophistication. My goals, always, have been to bring broader perspective to their relatively narrow view. To show possible outcomes to choices they’ll likely face and help them make more informed decisions. And, for those who’ve already taken wrong turns, or had all choice stolen from them, to bring hope and give them a voice.”
Jacob Sarkis, a senior at Gonzaga Prep and a Post Falls resident, said he had read at least one book on the list: “Dear Evan Hansen,” a novelization of the Broadway musical of the same name, written by Val Emmich in collaboration with the show’s creators.
Sarkis supports some limits on this novel, considering its “s--ual content.” However, he believes a lower age restriction would support readers in understanding deep subjects while preventing inappropriate exposure. For him, exceptional youth maturity should be factored to prevent blanket guidelines from isolating readers who are ready for it.
“I wouldn’t want my kids, if they’re younger than 13 or 14, to read it,” Sarkis said.
...
Pinsky said the book does not talk about the mechanics of sex, but begins with discussions about trust and boundaries in relation to friends, teachers, coaches and others.
She thinks the book is often challenged not because of the topic of consent, but because she discusses and affirms LGBTQ identity.
The book is written as a conversation between her and her dad. They don’t agree on everything.
Paulina Pinsky, author of "It Doesn’t Have to Be Awkward: Dealing with Relationships, Consent, and Other Hard-to-Talk-About Stuff, said she thinks an adult-only section is a better solution than completely banning the book, but it has the effect of making it look sexier than it actually is.
Kelly Jensen of Book riot explains:Four More Books Banned in South Carolina Schools
Why?
"Due to Regulation 43-170 (R-43-170), decisions over content in school libraries is in the hands of the South Carolina Department of Education. Materials deemed to have “descriptions of s--ual content” are deemed inappropriate for schools. What that phrase means is intentionally vague, allowing for the opinions of a small number of individuals within the state to decide on behalf of all students and parents statewide.
The South Carolina Department of Education, headed by Ellen Weaver–who used taxpayer money to hire a lawyer to lobby in support of this school book banning bill–has set up an Instructional Materials Review Committee (IMRC), where any parent in the state can submit complaints. This has allowed individuals to exert significant power in what’s available not only in their public schools but in schools statewide.
The IMRC reviews complaints and elects whether or not to advance the complaints to the Department of Education for a final decision. Decisions are made not on reading the entire book and assessing whether or not it rises to the definition of obscenity per the Miller Test. They’re made based on excerpts provided by the person bringing about the complaints.
On Election Day when people were otherwise occupied, the SC Department of Education banned seven books from every public school in the state. In the weeks following the ban of those books, listed below, further action was taken in deciding to not ban Crank by Ellen Hopkins but to restrict its access to parents who grant opt-in permission.
This week, the State Department of Education voted to ban four more books. They also decided to retain two books brought before them, Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Those two retained titles were part of a series of challenges by one parent in the Fort Mill School District ; that parent unsuccessfully challenged a third title, too, an introduction to literature for 8th graders textbook.
All four of the books banned this week came from complaints by a parent in Beaufort County, where 97 books were pulled from shelves for review following a Moms For Liberty member’s initiated complaint. Those complaints to the district were made based on reviews from BookLooks, Moms For Liberty’s homegrown review site. The district elected to ban five books from the list of 97, none of which were the ones banned by the state this week.
Added to the banned books list this week are:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
Flamer by Mike Curato
Push by Sapphire
Those titles join the previously banned seven titles:
Damsel by Elana K. Arnold
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Several of the books on South Carolina’s statewide banned book list are also titles which appear on Utah’s state sponsored banned list. Every book banned this week in South Carolina is by or about people of color and/or LGBTQ+ people.
Complaints over each of the books, both banned and retained, are available the State Department of Education’s website. As of writing, the website has not been updated to reflect the latest decisions, but here is where final decisions and associated documents live and here is where pending decisions and associated documents live. Take the time to read them and understand these decisions are being made on conspiracy theories and cherry picked passages being distributed by Moms For Liberty and similar groups.
For all the arguments about “local control,” this is the precise opposite. The South Carolina Department of Education is the arbiter of what is and is not accessible to students in public institutions across the state, not those who live or work in those communities.
It’s a further reminder, too, that this isn’t, nor has it ever, been about the books. It’s about systematic erasure of queer people and people of color from public spaces. Buying the books does not help the problem. Showing up and lobbying for the end of practices like this is. Weaver certainly has and she’s done it on taxpayer dimes."
https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/02/0...Book publishers, authors, Donnelly Public Library sue Idaho officials over library materials law
Lawsuit alleges state law, passed through House Bill 710, is ‘vague and sweeping’ and violates constitutional rights
National book publishers, authors, the Donnelly Public Library, and a handful of Idaho parents and students sued Idaho officials on Tuesday to block the state’s library materials law.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, challenges Idaho’s law adopted in 2024 that requires libraries move materials deemed “harmful to minors,” or face lawsuits.
The lawsuit alleges Idaho’s law violates the constitutional rights of publishers, authors, parents, librarians, educators and students, “by forcing public schools and libraries to undertake drastic measures to restrict minors’ access to books, or face injunction and/or monetary penalty.”
The lawsuit alleges Idaho’s law, passed by the Idaho Legislature and signed by Gov. Brad Little through House Bill 710, is “vague and sweeping.” The lawsuit requests the court enjoin the law’s enforcement and declare the law unconstitutional and void for violating First and 14th Amendment rights in the U.S. Constitution.
“House Bill 710 in Idaho is clearly trying to stigmatize queer identities and queer sexuality,” Malinda Lo, author of “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” that the lawsuit says has been restricted in two Idaho libraries, said in a news conference Tuesday.
“And I want to make it clear to everyone, but to my readers especially, that there is nothing shameful about queer sexuality,” she said. “There is nothing shameful about being queer — period.”
In the lawsuit, several publishers and authors claim their books have been relocated or removed from Idaho libraries following the law.
The lawsuit is against Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, several Idaho county prosecuting attorneys and the Eagle Public Library Board of Trustees. In October, the Eagle library board relocated 23 books after a closed-door deliberation, Idaho Education News reported.
“As publishers, we are competitors in the marketplace of ideas. The success of our books and our authors rises and falls based on the interest they earn from readers. But we can’t compete when the government walls off young people from ideas,” Penguin Random House’s Associate General Counsel Dan Novack said in a news conference Tuesday.
The law, through its private cause of action provision, lets individuals sue schools or libraries. It “deputize(s) private individuals with the power to bring a private right of action against schools or libraries,” the lawsuit says.
“The act thus puts educators and librarians in the untenable position of having to guess whether any member of the public might file an objection to a book whose message they disagree with by simply claiming that the book falls within HB 710’s vague and overbroad definition of materials ‘harmful to minors,’” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit alleges Idaho’s law is unconstitutional in several ways: By creating a chilling effect on constitutionally protected speech through vague language, by targeting homosexual acts specifically, by not distinguishing between older and younger minors, and by not fully adhering to an established legal test to regulate obscene speech.
The law relies on Idaho’s existing definition of materials harmful to minors, which includes “any act of … homosexuality” under its definition of s--ual conduct.
But the law doesn’t include “any act of heterosexuality,” or further define an act of homosexuality, the lawsuit notes.
Including that line, the lawsuit says, “demonstrates that HB 710 is intended to specifically restrict access to, and stigmatize, books that portray anything having to do with LGBTQ+ characters.”
Idaho’s law applies to all minors under the age of 18. By effectively lumping together all minors, the law is without regard to the “constitutional reality that material appropriate for the youngest of minors may be appropriate and of significant value to older minors.”
The lawsuit also says Idaho law only clearly incorporates the first two prongs of a legal test, established by the U.S. Supreme Court, used to evaluate obscenity restriction laws.
Established by the Supreme Court in 1973, the Miller Test evaluates if a material appeals to “prurient” or excessive s--ual interests, if it is patently offensive, and if the work lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
But the lawsuit alleges Idaho’s law doesn’t clearly incorporate the Miller test’s third prong, which addresses serious value.
“While the third Miller prong receives passing mention in HB 710, its application is limited only to works that represent or describe (view spoiler)
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, told the Sun the bill was constitutional in an email Tuesday, but he said he would not comment further on pending litigation.
Blaine Conzatti, president of the Idaho Family Policy Center, a Christian lobbying group that lobbied for years for similar Idaho library materials restrictions laws, defended Idaho’s legal test as clear.
“The Children’s School and Library Protection Act utilizes the modified Miller test to determine which materials should be restricted for minors. This test — which was promulgated by the US Supreme Court and has been used in obscenity law for more than 50 years — is both clear and understandable,” he told the Sun in an email.
The law “doesn’t ban any books,” Conzatti said. “Instead, it simply requires that libraries and public schools take reasonable steps to restrict children’s access to materials that meet the legal standard of obscene for minors."
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs include several major national and international book publishers, such as Penguin Random House LLC, Hachette Book Group, Inc., HarperCollins Publishers LLC, Macmillan Publishing Group, Simon & Schuster LLC, Sourcebooks LLC, along with The Authors Guild, a national nonprofit association of over 14,000 professional writers.
Many publishers and authors involved in the lawsuit say their books have been removed from libraries, or relocated to adults-only areas, under Idaho’s law.
Lo’s book “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” which deals with many LGBTQ+ themes, “can no longer be found in the Rocky Mountain library and has been relocated to the adult section of the Eagle Public Library,” the lawsuit says.
“Over the years, I’ve received countless messages from my readers, many of them queer teen girls, who tell me that reading my books has comforted them. Has made them feel seen. Has shown them that it’s OK to be who they are,” Lo said in a news conference Tuesday.
Since she published it, she said many queer Asian Americans reached out to tell her how much the book meant to them.
“Because our lives are so often invisible in our culture. Seeing yourself in a book can be a transformative and empowering experience; one that I rarely had when I was growing up,” Lo said. “This is why I write about queer and Asian American characters. I’m writing the books that I want to read; the books I needed as a teen.”
Many of her readers are young adults who “lack the resources or ability to access my books outside of public and school libraries,” Lo said. “Removing my books from these spaces in Idaho makes it functionally impossible for me to reach my intended readers.”
The lawsuit alleges Idaho’s law forces school librarians and libraries “to choose between restricting access to materials which they believe have serious value for minors and risking onerous book challenge reviews, litigation, and liability.”
The Donnelley Public Library, which operates out of a 1,204-square foot log cabin and a handful of teepees in Valley County, is a tenth the size of Idaho’s average library, the lawsuit states.
The library’s decision to go adults-only barring parents signing waivers has already appeared to reduce community members’ access, the lawsuit says.
The number of materials patrons checked out from the library dropped to 999 from July 1, 2024, to Aug. 15, 2024, compared to 1,748 material check outs in that same period in 2023, the lawsuit says.
“Although the library has never made available any material that is ‘obscene’ or ‘harmful to minors’ … it does carry books that some Idahoans may find offensive despite their obvious literary merit,” the lawsuit says.
...
“By including those literary works in its collection, the risk of liability and statutory damages flowing from HB 710’s vague and ambiguous prohibitions represent too high a risk for the library to carry, particularly given its already strained financial situation,” the lawsuit says.
Conzatti, president of the Idaho Family Policy Center, called the lawsuit’s claim that “‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, ‘Slaughterhouse-Five,’ and other literary classics fall under the definition of material harmful to minors as defined by the Supreme Court is absurd.”
Conzatti said most Idaho libraries have followed the law’s requirements. But he criticized Donnelley’s adults-only policy.
“The Donnelly Public Library, on the other hand, seems intent on using children as pawns in its political games,” he said. “There’s simply no rational reason why they would need to restrict children’s access to the entire library.”
In Meridian, Rocky Mountain High School Librarian Christie Nichols is quoted in the lawsuit as being instructed to remove nearly 40 titles from the school’s library — due to a school district policy meant to reduce litigation risk; the school is part of the West Ada School District.
Olivia Lanzara, an 18-year-old senior at the school, expected to easily check out many of the books on the restricted list, “without fear of stigmatization,” the lawsuit says.
“For Olivia, books initiate challenging conversations in safe environments and empower her to navigate unsafe or difficult situations,” the lawsuit states. But “given the fear and ambiguity surrounding HB 710, Olivia can no longer access these books directly via her school library,” the lawsuit says.
Eagle resident Melissa Cull, who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit and a mother of three school-aged children who are avid readers, “believes What Girls Are Made Of is an important and impactful story for young people — especially teen girls, like her daughters,” the lawsuit says.
But under Idaho’s law, Cull worries Eagle’s youth will “lose out on building lifelong skills in empathy and understanding” and “will be less prepared to face life’s harder struggles,” the lawsuit says.
Since the Eagle library board voted to remove and reshelve nearly two dozen titles, Cull “fears that her children and others will face stigma for seeking out allegedly ‘inappropriate’ books, or that they will avoid otherwise valuable literature altogether,” the lawsuit states.
Still censorship!6 books restricted in St. Johns County, Florida schools after arguments to have them banned
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/lo...
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Johns County School District is not adding six more books to its list of more than 60 it says have been removed from schools.
Instead, the books will be added onto the more than 29 books restricted to certain grade levels, particularly high schools. The school board heard arguments to have them removed from school library shelves after a district committee had previously voted to have them restricted to high schools.
Those who argued for the removal of these books brought up a number of problems they had with their content, from the use of vulgar language to s--ual material and mentions of drug and alcohol abuse.
“P----graphy is considered contraband, but you can check it out at the school library,” one of the women opposing the books said during the school board hearing.
But there were many more parents and neighbors who gave a case to keep the books during the meeting.
“A single person should not dictate what books another’s children are allowed to read,” one of them told school board members.
*SIGH* It's so hard to read the news but NOT knowing is capitulating. Knowing enough to fight back is better. Kelly Jensen of BookRiot once again provides an excellent analysis of the state of affairs this week.
"[A]s this year’s state legislative sessions kick off, some of the states which have passed anti-book ban bills are seeing new bill proposals that, for all intents and purposes, seek to undermine those bills meant to protect library collections.
[Both Minnesota and Maryland, states with anti book-ban bills] have book ban legislation on the docket for 2025. [The bills] would make it possible to ban books in public schools if those books contained material deemed “s--ually explicit” or “s--ually inappropriate.” Those two terms, purposefully vague and not tied to the federally-standard Miller Test for obscenity, would kick open the door to book bans based on whatever interpretation of “s--ually explicit” or “s--ually inappropriate” is used at the time.
Minnesota’s House File 235, a Republican-sponsored bill, would prohibit public school libraries from containing “any pornographic material.” It further specifies that public elementary schools cannot contain “sexually explicit content.” Neither of these phrases are defined in the bill.
Legislators in the state have a convenient example of why they need this bill, too. Last month, a superintendent in Rochester Public Schools banned a picture book for a single page that featured a wide variety of people attending a Pride parade. It was deemed inappropriate for depicting nudity—none of it gratuitous or obscene by any definition of the words. The book was banned despite the law protecting it from such bans. House File 235 would give explicit permission for the removal of books like this one, especially as there are no definitions for what would or wouldn’t count as “s--ually explicit content.”
Maryland’s House Bill 282, another Republican-sponsored bill, would target books or audiovisual materials in elementary, middle, and secondary public schools throughout the state. Though Maryland’s bill lays out a definition of “s--ually explicit materials,” it is as vague and meaningless as that in Minnesota. Materials that depict “graphic or obscene depictions of s--ual activity” need to be “age-appropriate”—recall that every single person who isn’t a professional in child development, education, librarianship, or similar defines this however is most convenient to them, rather than by actual research and standards.
The state won’t be defining those things, though. It’ll be left up to each county in Maryland to make those decisions. This would allow for policies that quickly undermine the freedom to read legislation, and again, there’s no acknowledgment of the prevailing legal standard for “obscene.”
We’re naive to think that anti-book ban bills are the be-all, end-all. We already have seen the dirty tactics book banners eagerly use to assert their viewpoints in public school libraries in Minnesota—Anoka County Schools plan to use Moms For Liberty‘s partisan, unprofessional BookLooks website in determining what materials can enter public school libraries.
It’s a Maryland-centered case on books that will hit the Supreme Court. Mahmoud v. Taylor is about whether or not Montgomery Public Schools have the right to include LGBTQ+ books in curriculum without the right for parents to opt-out of their inclusion due to “religious objections.” Maryland’s freedom to read act, which states books cannot be removed from public schools or libraries because of origin, background, or beliefs of the author nor partisan or religious disapproval, has little bearing on the case.
Legislators who are hellbent on banning queer people and people of color from public spaces and who have a vested interest in defunding and destabilizing democratic institutions like public libraries and schools are going to find ways to subvert whatever well-intentioned, strongly-written laws are passed to protect these things. Chances are that over the next several months, we’ll see similar bills pop up in states with anti-book ban bills. This is a place where legally sanctioned homophobia via an argument about “sexually explicit content” will thrive.
Here’s your reminder that even if you think you’re in a “good,” “safe,” “blue” state when it comes to book censorship, you aren’t. You need to be writing your representatives, showing up to school and library board meetings, and putting as much time and energy into protecting your public institutions of democracy as those in “bad,” “unsafe,” “red” states have been for the last half-decade. This fight is far from its start and it is also far from over."
A Tallahassee Episcopal priest is among the leaders pushing back against book bans in Florida.https://news.wfsu.org/wfsu-local-news...
This week a Florida judge dismissed a lawsuit that would have allowed parents to challenge a school district’s decision to remove a school library book. The move comes as the Trump Administration is dismissing 11 complaints against school districts for that. But there was a bit of push-back in Tallahassee Thursday night.
Susan Gage, an Episcopal priest, assembled a group of authors to read selections from challenged and banned books at the Req Room on Monroe Street.
She says what might offend one person could be the book that keeps kids from feeling isolated because they can see themselves in the story.
“I think it’s important for us to know other people’s perspectives because it just make us a more empathetic society," Gage says. "And I think that’s one of the things we’ve lost, is we have lost the ability to have empathy. And that is going to be our undoing, if we don’t have empathy.”
She also points to ongoing legal battles over challenged books.
“We who are not lawyers need to not shut up, because it’s when we shut up and we go silent that they just take that as acceptance," she says. "And I am not going to accept. I’m going to insist.”
Very scary people in Arizona.A far-right politician in Arizona is reviving a bill that would put educators in jail if they allow access to “s--ually explicit material.” Kelly Jensen announces "Arizona already bankrupted its public education with their private voucher schemes."
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/...
GOP state Sen. Jake Hoffman wants to make it a class 5 felony for teachers to allow access to “s--ually explicit material.”
In Kristin Roberts’ English classroom, the library has two sections. One is larger than the other.
The smaller of the two contains books that students may take and read as they please. The second section is bigger and, figuratively, guarded. The books there, such as the young adult novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," are not particularly controversial. But in order for students to read them — or even flip through a few pages — Roberts must first get a parent’s permission.
This restriction is the result of a 2022 law, passed by Republicans and signed by former Gov. Doug Ducey, that requires parental consent in order for teachers to provide students with “s----ally explicit materials.” That’s been headache enough for educators such as Roberts, an 18-year teaching veteran who works in a Phoenix-area high school. (She asked to withhold the name of her school to make it clear she was speaking in an individual capacity.) And now, if a student slips a peek at a book without Roberts jumping through the proper hoops, a far-right Republican lawmaker would like to toss her in prison.
Senate Bill 1090 is being pushed by Freedom Caucus member Sen. Jake Hoffman of Queen Creek. Currently, Arizona law prescribes no penalty for violating the “s----ally explicit materials” statute. Hoffman’s bill, which also applies to employees of public libraries but not to those of private schools, would make a violation a class 5 felony, punishable by between six months to 2.5 years imprisonment.
“Are teachers going to be given a felony if we teach Romeo and Juliet?” Roberts asked.
At a Senate Education Committee hearing on Tuesday, Hoffman claimed the bill and its criminal penalties are necessary because “liberally controlled school districts” aren’t following the 2022 law, which he also sponsored. Hoffman did not mention any specific schools or districts where this is happening, nor did he respond to a request for comment from Phoenix New Times.
Hoffman showed the Republican-controlled committee images from “It’s Perfectly Normal,” a frequently banned s-x education book by Robie H. Harris. Following the lead of Gilbert-based anti-LGBTQ hate group Family Watch International, GOP lawmakers have for years used the book to whip up moral panic and push claims of s--ually explicit materials in schools.
Published in 1994, “It’s Perfectly Normal” is an illustrated health manual meant to help parents broach the uncomfortable s-x education talk with kids entering puberty. Showing illustrations from from the book to the committee, Hoffman called it “one of dozens and dozens of books that exist on the shelves of our library systems and in our school systems today.” However, there’s little evidence that Arizona educators use the book in their curricula.
What is used in classrooms — but requires parental consent to teach — is a wide swath of material. Tuesday’s hearing included testimony from Rosie Stewart, the senior public policy manager for Penguin Random House Publishers, who pointed out works that could be barred by the bill’s “excessively expansive” definition of “s--ually explicit.”
Stewart told the committee, “This bill would bar classics such as "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, "The Diary of Anne Frank," "1984" by George Orwell, just to name a few.”
SB 1090 passed through the Senate Education Committee by a 4-3 party-line vote. It’ll be dead on arrival if ever gets to Gov. Katie Hobbs — Hobbs vetoed a similar measure last year — though Republicans and Hoffman could still seek to put it before voters as a ballot measure. Even if the bill advances no further, though, educators and advocates say it and similar measures are having a chilling effect.
In September, the Gilbert Police Department opened an investigation into Brittany O’Neill, an English teacher at Williams Field High School. A parent of a student in O’Neill’s college-level elective Honors Multilingual Literature class didn’t like a book that was part of the lessons. The parent filed a police report.
A month prior, O’Neill spoke to the Higley Unified School District School Board about the situation. She explained that a parent had a problem with the books on O’Neill’s curriculum and accused her “of disseminating child p---graphy and being a groomer” and “attempted to have the police open an investigation against me” based on the “approved literature being offered.”
The book in question, “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi, is a historical fiction novel and international bestseller that follows the “parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations.” In early November, Gilbert police closed the case due to insufficient probable cause, and Arizona State Board of Education Deputy Director Bruce Duplanty said O’Neill “has not gone to the Board for any reason to date.”
O’Neill could not be reached for comment, but other teachers have taken note. Roberts said that she’s seen teachers stop teaching lessons related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day for fear of being accused of teaching “critical race theory.”
“They were afraid that someone was going to raise up a concern and try to take away their certificate or create a show at the school board meeting,” Roberts said.
Even without criminal penalties, the law as written has created issues for educators. Since the 2022 statute went into effect, teachers and school districts have sent lists of books home with students so they could get their parent's permission to read them. If the books are considered even close to “s--ually explicit,” some teachers send home individual permission slips for that specific book.
Now teachers such as Roberts sacrifice instructional time to “manage and monitor these permission slips.” That “kills the momentum that we were building with learning how to select books and learning to read for pleasure,” she said.
“No teachers in Arizona are truly teaching s--ually explicit materials,” said Tyler Kowch, a spokesperson for the public education advocacy organization Save Our Schools. ”That just doesn’t happen in public schools. We should be able to trust these highly qualified educators to make these determinations. We shouldn’t have this nanny police state over what books are being read.”
But a nanny police state is what teachers see Arizona schools becoming, leading many to leave the profession. Arizona is already low on teachers, and the state's students are already bad at reading.
Very scary news in Florida. Moms For Liberty co-founder and former Indian River County School Board member Tiffany Justice is joining the conservative Heritage Foundation as a visiting fellow to focus on parent rights.
Kelly Jensen explains this person will be executing even more of the Project 2025 plans related to education and libraries.
...
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/edu...
In her new position, which she began this month, Justice will oversee the Heritage Foundation's parental rights initiative, according to a Jan. 24 news release from the organization. The initiative is "working to dismantle the barriers that radical ideologues have erected between parents and their children and restore parents' rightful authority to direct the upbringing, education and care of their children," according to the release.
In 2023, the Heritage Foundation published Project 2025, also referred to as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. It discusses recommendations on ways to transition the government under a conservative president's leadership, including ways to overhaul agencies such as the FBI, and eliminating the Department of Education.
"President Trump is putting parents in the driver's seat, and I am working to help him do that," Justice said. Parents have the fundamental right to have school choice, she said.
Um okaaayy... Public libraries are for the PUBLIC as in everyone. Rutherford County Library System (TN) is reviewing a patron complaint over a book this week. The book is Linda Ashman’s Over the River and Through the Wood: A Holiday Adventure. The Request for Reconsideration seeks to remove all copies of this illustrated children’s book from the library system’s collections.
...The complaint: “I was surprised to find a family of two dads presented in this book. Please choose books that appeal to all patrons. We can find a way to stock books that do not offend but instead unite. Thank you!”
RCLS owns two copies of the book, and they are shelved with the Children’s Picture Books at Linebaugh Public Library and Eagleville Bicentennial Public Library. After reviewing the patron complaint, the library staff’s recommendation to the board is that the title should remain in the collection.
in Arkansas, there’s a bill attempting to abolish the state library board. WHAT?https://www.kark.com/news/state-news/...
Arkansas would no longer have an Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) Commission and state library board If legislation filed Monday becomes law.
Senate Bill 184 would abolish the AETN Commission and turn all its remaining funds over to the Department of Education. Its abolishment includes all personnel.
According to the bill’s language, AETN rules will remain in place until the Department of Education updates them. The AETN name would be changed to the Arkansas Educational Television Commission.
The state library board would also be abolished, with budgeting and purchasing being turned over to the Department of Education. Like AETN, any of its rules will remain in effect until the education department updates them.
The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro) and Rep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford). It is co-sponsored by Rep. Stephen Meeks (R-Greenbrier).
In November 2024, Former Arkansas senator and current Arkansas State Library Board member Jason Rapert called for the library board to be dissolved due to its failure in “protecting children from s--ually explicit materials.”
Expect more book bans in Duval County, Florida. This is scary news Kelly Jensen has found."Duval County Schools (FL) are considering changing their s-x education curriculum to not make such education mandatory but optional. If implemented, parents are worried it would allow schools to make --x education opt-IN rather than opt-OUT. In other words, the baseline would be students get no s-x education unless their parents say it is okay."
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2...
The proposed policy changes for health education were presented at a meeting on Jan. 29. The revisions include striking out the word “required” and instead stating in part, “Comprehensive Health Education shall be taught efficiently and faithfully using state-adopted books and materials.”
Additionally, a new section emphasizes that “the program will be abstinence-based and will promote s--ual abstinence as the expected standard for students.”
Elissa Barr, a professor of public health at the University of North Florida, shared her thoughts on the proposed changes.
“I think the current push is to do less rather than more when it comes to s---al health education, and that’s unfortunate,” Barr said. “This curriculum is greatly needed, supported by the majority, and can actually help kids wait to have s-x and use protection when they do.”
Parents are also worried about the possibility of the board changing the opt-out policy to an opt-in policy. Although the proposed documents do not currently indicate such a change, Mandy Rubin, a Duval County parent and member of Public School Defenders, expressed concern about discussions among school board members at a policy meeting regarding this potential shift. We looked at Duval County School’s meeting archive and couldn’t find the meeting from Jan. 29 to confirm that discussion.
Rubin noted the difficulty parents face in keeping track of numerous documents and decisions, fearing that an opt-in policy could result in students missing out on vital information.
“You know, so much just doesn’t make it home,” said Rubin. “So I worry that if it was to change to an opt-in policy, there would just be a lot more students who are missing out on pretty vital information.”
Erin Sharer, another Duval County parent and member of Public School Defenders, also voiced her concerns.
“Opting into public education is a right, not a privilege,” Sharer said. “We don’t opt into math, science, reading, or social studies, and we should not be opting into comprehensive, age-appropriate s-x education.”
Barr emphasized the importance of balancing education about contraceptives and abstinence in sex education curriculums to help combat misinformation that students may find elsewhere.
“They are finding information everywhere, and it can be harmful and inaccurate,” Barr said. “As educated adults, we need to meet them where they are and provide evidence-based, data-driven information.”
News4JAX reached out to the school district’s communications department for a statement.
“It would be premature for us to address this. Discussion on this policy is still in progress,” a spokesperson for the district said.
________
That is not going to work. Try telling teens NOT to do something and then when they don't know they look it up online. Ban TikTok not education.
Scary news in WyomingLibrary book bill debated in Wyoming legislative committee
https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/news/st...
Representatives in the statehouse are debating a measure proponents say will protect children from obscene material in school and public libraries, but opponents say is unnecessary and duplicates established protocol.
For more than an hour Monday, the House Judiciary Committee discussed House Bill 194, “Obscenity amendments,” which would repeal exemptions in place for public and school librarians from the crime of “promoting obscenity to minors,” with penalty of a $6,000 fine or one year of imprisonment.
Bill sponsor Rep. Ann Lucas, R-Cheyenne, said on Monday in committee that Wyoming parents and grandparents have discovered “books that had what we considered to be inappropriate-level s--ual material and content” in school and public libraries in recent years. Parents were not notified that questionable books were available, and districts denied they offered anything inappropriate, Lucas said.
Lucas continued that her bill delineates what is suitable for minors, but also allows for parent or guardian choice in the matter.
“The intent here is, if your 16-year-old daughter is mature, and you want her to be able to read ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ she can, with your knowledge and consent as a parent. But nobody else can make that decision for your child but you,” Lucas said.
However, anyone other than a parent could be charged with the crime of promoting obscenity to a minor if they provide said material to a minor, Lucas said.
Further, she said that the system should be “opt in,” or such that parents who want access to content like “The Handmaid’s Tale” should have to opt to make it available, rather than requiring parents who don’t want their students to have access to “opt out.”
Laramie County Library System Executive Director Antonia Gaona told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Tuesday that she has concerns over the overreach in the bill, and said that as a Christian, a parent and a county librarian, she cannot support HB 194.
This legislation is unnecessary government overreach, and it creates duplicate bureaucratic tools and processes,” Gaona said.
Local library boards already adhere to reasonable oversight and control, she said. In Laramie County, the library board of directors is appointed by elected county commissioners, and they craft, approve and enforce library policies through a public process that includes public comment.
“Beyond that, as a public library, we follow strict, professional guidelines and ethical standards to determine which materials and offerings are appropriate, based on the audience,” she said.
During public comment Monday, opponents called the measure a “book banning bill” that could have far-reaching, unintended consequences on not only what books are available, but on how teachers are allowed to teach.
Proponents said that parents have long relied on school and public libraries as safe spaces for children, but do not know the extent of obscenities in the books on the shelves.
Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, asked if the intent of the bill was also to eliminate materials used in s-x education classes. Lucas responded that it is possible to teach s-x ed without “any measure of lewdness or prurient interest, by sticking with medical/clinical terms.”
Grady Hutcherson with the Wyoming Education Association spoke about the potential unintended consequences HB 194 may have.
“If you are a health educator and have health standards that you’re required to teach, this version of this bill currently raises the question of whether or not a health educator could potentially be fined or imprisoned,” Hutcherson said.
Committee Chairman Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, asked if those courses could be opt-in by parents, but Hutcherson said he was reluctant to say so because state standards require health education.
Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne, said during public comment that he finds “it incredible to think that we exempt libraries and librarians from the very laws that citizens on the street would be violating,” further adding that teachers should not be exempt, either.
Lindsay Travis, president of the Wyoming Library Association, approached the committee urging a no vote on HB 194. Echoing what Gaona said, Travis said librarians take their responsibility for not promoting obscenity very seriously, following locally approved policies over what is allowed in their collections.
However, even with precautions in place, the definition of what is “obscene” varies from one individual to the next, she said.
“This is why the exemption is in place, to protect librarians and other professionals from frivolous and likely expensive lawsuits,” Travis said.
The bill “only grows government,” she said, and public library policies state that parents and guardians, not librarians, are responsible for monitoring the reading selections of their own children.
“Likewise, school district policies can allow parents to opt out their children from accessing library materials,” she said.
Rep. Pam Thayer, R-Rawlins, asked if there is an age limit for children to enter a library, and Travis responded that it varies from library to library: Some state that unaccompanied minors must be with a parent, and some do not.
“You prefer a parent, but how can you ensure, if a minor does come in, that they’re not exposed to some of the books of concern?” Thayer said, continuing that she sees HB 194 as a way to address the issue of unaccompanied, unsupervised minors in a library potentially accessing material of which a parent did not approve.
Later in the meeting, Christine Brady, director of the Goshen County Library, said her library is one big room with a very small staff.
“How am I going to restrict access? We have things in different locations, but let’s be clear. It is a parent’s responsibility to know where their children are. Children don’t just wander into libraries. The parents are supposed to know where their kids are,” Brady said.
“Trying to figure out logistically how a small library is going to restrict access is going to be a difficult task,” Brady said. “I urge you to vote no on this bill.”
Gaona emphasized to the WTE that a public library cannot act in place of a parent. Methods for parental control include different levels of checkout privileges on a juvenile card, as well as restrictions on and links to a parent card.
“Parents can inspect their children’s records. They are expected to accompany their children on library visits and to library events,” Gaona said.
But Chelsie Collier, a member of the Campbell County Public Library board in Gillette, spoke in favor of the bill Monday, saying that for decades, parents have seen libraries as a safe place for minors. Those parents have not truly seen what has “seeped into our walls and pages,” Collier said. A “loophole” has allowed “liberal media outlets and publishers to promote s---ally explicit material to minors without oversight of parental consent,” she said.
“Parents have no clue what materials their children will have access to,” Collier said. “(They may) stumble upon acts displayed in pictures, drawings and through graphically, erotically painted words.”
Natrona County School Board Trustee Mary Schmidt, speaking as an individual before the committee, said that she, too, supports HB 194.
“I can say that our school libraries do contain many of the graphic novels that contain nudity, language and many other obscene things,” Schmidt said.
In light of recent Wyoming testing scores, which showed 70% of fourth-graders and 71% of eighth-graders were not proficient in reading, Schmidt said HB 194 would encourage school boards to review library resources and encourage policies that would direct school libraries to support the academic studies “instead of titillating, leisurely reading materials that we currently have.”
Washut said the committee would take up amendments to the bill Wednesday.
This is just... I have no wordsKelly Jensen reports and I refuse to click
" A first-grade teacher in the Bay Area (CA) has apparently made some people big mad for sharing her classroom has diverse books."
https://abc7news.com/post/pittsburg-t...
I have no words for this either. Just tears.An update from Grants Pass, Oregon, where the Board of Commissioners voted to terminate the lease of a branch library, which is set to expire this week.
https://kobi5.com/news/local-news/jos...
Josephine County Commissioners, Library District to meet to discuss lease
Last month, the Board of Commissioners voted to terminate the lease with a 30 days’ notice, set to run out Thursday.
When protesters rallied together in front of the Josephine County Courthouse, Commissioner Chris Barnett told NBC5 News that there would be no letter of termination as the commissioners just wanted the library to come talk to them.
Now, Rachele Selvig, vice president of the Josephine Community Library District Board, says a meeting has finally been scheduled after the county delayed discussions with the library.
“What’s going on? I mean, right? Now, all of the sudden, we’ve got a meeting, and the purpose of the meeting is the consideration of lease termination, so I am confused, I don’t know what’s going on,” Selvig said.
Selvig noted because this meeting is open to the public, supporters of the library are encouraged to attend.
The meeting is Tuesday, February 11 at 1:30 p.m. in the conference room on the second floor of the commissioner’s office.
The Florida Freedom to Read project reports a caveat to the following story "It’s important to note that not all CDF objections went before committees. There were a number of titles removed without the opportunity for parent input via committees."https://bsky.app/profile/flfreedomrea...
Polk County Public Schools disclosed the removal of more than 30 books from school libraries following citizen challenges, in addition to the six listed in a state report released last month.
As previously reported, the Florida Department of Education recently released a list of titles removed from school libraries and classrooms in every county. The report identified six books rendered unavailable in Polk County...
All the challenges to the titles came from two people: Robert Goodman, executive director of Citizens Defending Freedom, and Beverly Hartley, who is also affiliated with the conservative political group.
Most of the books have been removed from Insignia, the district’s library management system, pending reviews by school committees.
“If a book is removed from circulation, the book is also deleted from our online library catalog system,” district spokesperson Kyle Kennedy said in an email. “Weeded books would also no longer be available. Books are weeded based on age, condition, and circulation annually as part of our inventory process.”
Some of the titles underwent initial reviews, and certified media specialists decided to remove them based on age, circulation, current district criteria or compliance with state statutes, Kennedy said.
Media specialists may remove books at any time through an ongoing process, Kennedy said.
“As more reviews become available for a book, a media specialist could decide it does not meet the needs of their school population,” Kennedy wrote. “Additionally, they review circulation data to decide if a book is still relevant to the school population.”
If a media specialist decides to remove a book, the title is no longer available in school libraries or the district’s library catalog system, Kennedy said.
About 30 challenges came in the last week of May, according to the district’s list. The dominant reason listed for books’ removals was “does not meet current district selection criteria.” A smaller number were identified as not complying with current state statutes. The district listed four titles as removed because of age or circulation frequency.
The list identified nine titles as facing school challenges. That means that following an initial review, a team of certified media specialists concluded that the book should be reviewed by a school media committee, Kennedy said.
Those reviews will proceed at the school level, with schools scheduling meetings in January, he said. When the dates are set, the district will publicize the meetings on its website, as required by state law.
Not content with banning books in schools and libraries and censoring education, the latest attack on information is on PBS and NPR. Yes PBS. We're reading the Reading Rainbow books, a staple of some of our childhoods. PBS the original home of Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers and dozens of educational programming for children that teach youth how to think, how to interact with others who are different from them and discover the world around them. MoveOn Political Action Committee reports:
Trump has explicitly called for NPR to be defunded, calling it "a liberal disinformation machine." Musk has listed NPR and PBS funding as part of the sweeping cuts he's attempting through his so-called "Department of Government Efficiency."
Trump's FCC head has launched a politically motivated investigation into NPR and PBS—a move designed to manufacture an excuse to revoke their broadcast licenses or, at a bare minimum, cripple their funding.
And in a late Friday order, Trump notified NPR, along with The New York Times, NBC News, and Politico, that they would be expelled from their dedicated office space at the Pentagon. They are being replaced by the right-wing sites Breitbart News and One America News, which have repeatedly spread conspiracy theories and disinformation.
Sources:
"FCC Probing NPR, PBS on Possible Ad Ban Violation," Broadband Breakfast, January 31, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/202003?t=32...
https://act.moveon.org/go/202004?t=33...
https://act.moveon.org/go/202013?t=35...
https://act.moveon.org/go/202535?t=37...
A new study from the New York Public Library proves libraries make our lives better. https://www.nypl.org/spotlight/librar...
"n today’s society, libraries stand out as among the last truly public institutions. Providing access to resources without financial, social, or physical barriers, public libraries make a unique contribution to promoting individual and collective flourishing throughout the communities they serve.
The New York Public Library’s Strategy and Public Impact team and the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project at the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center have released a new report as part of an ongoing collaboration to study and advocate for the role of public libraries in the communities they serve. "
Utah has banned a 16th book from schools.https://www.sltrib.com/news/education...
The new entry is “Like a Love Story,” by Iranian-American author Abdi Nazemian. The historical, young adult queer novel follows Reza, an Iranian boy, as he grapples with his homosexuality in 1989, amid the AIDS crisis in New York City.
The novel was among Time Magazine’s ″100 Best YA Books of All Time” in 2021
PEN America has issued their 2005 reportMulti-level barrage of US book bans is ‘unprecedented’, says PEN America
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...
Multi-level barrage of US book bans is ‘unprecedented’, says PEN America
Censorship at local to federal level recalls past authoritarian regimes ‘but this has never all happened at once’
PEN America, one of America’s largest non-profits dedicated to protecting free expression in literature and beyond, warns that the current barrage of book bans and the growing traction of the movement is dangerously reminiscent of authoritarian regimes throughout history.
“What we’re seeing right now mirrors elements of different historical periods, but this has never all happened at once,” Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms managing director for US free expression programs at PEN America, said.
“That is what makes this moment so unprecedented,” he added. “We are seeing multiple levels of law, of political officials from local school boards to the federal government all trying to exert new ideological control to censor what can be taught in schools.”
What began as a local effort to instigate community-level backlash against public schools in 2020 has since escalated into a widespread political movement. The modern book banning effort can be traced back to backlash against the 1619 Project, a journalistic anthology by Nikole Hannah-Jones published in the New York Times, Friedman said.
The project aimed to reframe US history by centering the narrative around the contributions of Black Americans in building the country. Trump argued that the piece teaches students to “hate their own country” and Republican lawmakers followed suit by vowing to ban the work in schools.
Since then, rightwing politicians have used what they call “anti-American” literature as a campaign talking point, ramping up fears about books “indoctrinating” students into progressive values as a conservative rallying cry.
“We started seeing more politicians get involved at the state level, trying to support members of these communities who were mobilizing to censor books in schools,” Friedman said. “Now, in 2025, we’re seeing these efforts not only continue at the state level but also being discussed for implementation at the federal level.”
The bans show a clear pattern of targeting authors of color, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Books that educate about racism, gender and history are most often the recipient of relentless censorship attempts.
Unsurprisingly, red states on average show higher instances of book bans. Florida has by far the highest number of book bans in the past year, with 4,561 instances of banned books across 33 school districts. Banned titles include Beloved by Toni Morrison, Normal People by Sally Rooney and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
These bans have reportedly cost districts between $34,000 and $135,000 a year.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, has been a leading architect of banning books that don’t align with his political agenda. Much like Trump, he has referred to the book bans as a “hoax” despite the clear evidence and his direct involvement.
Friedman says book bans are often an early sign of authoritarianism. One of the most infamous examples is Nazi Germany’s mass book burnings, but Mussolini and many other dictators, including leaders of the Soviet Union and communist China, have utilized similar strategies of cultural censorship and intellectual suppression.
And often, the more subtle the censorship, the more effective it is.
“When someone wants to downplay a book being banned, they won’t call it a ban,” Friedman said. “That’s why certain cases don’t make the news.”
The act of banning a book will often be referred to as an appropriate “removal” or “withdrawal” of material. This has a far less threatening ring to it than “censorship”.
“The whole principle of public education is that it is not supposed to be dictated by particular ideologies that aim to censor what other people can learn and access in schools,” Friedman added.
And what isn’t discussed enough, Friedman argues, is the distinction between classrooms and school libraries. Classroom curriculum is shaped by a mix of state guidelines and the expertise and discretion of the educators. But public libraries, including public school libraries, are historically protected spaces for free access to ideas.
The landmark case Pico v Island Trees established that the discretionary power of school boards is second to the first amendment. In other words, school boards cannot restrict the availability of books in their libraries simply because they don’t like or agree with the content.
“The library is meant to be a place where people can access ideas and information in an unfettered manner, an uncensored manner,” Friedman said. “So, we have to be thoughtful in how we regulate libraries versus classrooms.
“But nobody benefits from classrooms where teachers are afraid of answering students’ questions and where students are afraid of asking certain questions.”
Book bans could escalate after Department of Education dismisses censorship complaintshttps://www.axios.com/2025/02/08/educ...
The U.S. Department of Education is stepping away from the fight over book bans, a move civil rights groups warn could give local officials more power to censor books on race, gender and identity.
Librarians and legal experts argue that book bans threaten First Amendment rights, warning that government censorship jeopardizes free speech and silences marginalized voices.
"If you want to control people, you interfere with their access to information," Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association (ALA), told Axios.
"That's why we're telling people to come together and unite against book bans. Everyone has the power to resist — whether by voting, showing up at board meetings, or supporting their local libraries."
On Jan. 24, the DOE's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) dismissed 11 complaints related to book bans and rescinded guidance that had previously suggested such bans could violate civil rights laws.
The OCR contended that removing "age-inappropriate" books is a matter of local control, not a civil rights violation.
The DOE also eliminated its book ban coordinator position, indicating a broader rollback of federal oversight regarding school censorship.
The ALA condemned the DOE's decision as a dangerous dismissal of censorship issues, warning that ideological book removals are unconstitutional and have been ruled against by courts.
"This isn't just about banning books — it's about controlling education and access to information," Caldwell-Stone told Axios. "And it's getting worse."
The ALA urged Americans to attend school board and library meetings to combat government overreach.
Friction point: Caldwell-Stone warns that the DOE's decision could undermine these legal battles, shifting the fight entirely to local school boards and state legislatures.
"We are seeing courts reject the idea that government officials can dictate what we're allowed to read," she said. "But without federal oversight, school boards and libraries are under enormous pressure to censor content."
Jeffrey R. Henig, an education policy expert at Columbia University, warns of federal intervention in local curricula.
"This administration is likely to use federal funding to pressure schools into restricting discussions on race, history, and systemic inequalities — taking the Florida model and expanding it nationally," Henig said.
Since 2021, 44 states have proposed laws restricting discussions on race and gender, fueling a surge in book bans. Advocacy groups report thousands of challenges, mainly targeting books on race, gender and identity.
Laws in several states — including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama — have placed restrictions on classroom discussions about race and identity.
The ALA recorded 414 censorship attempts in the first eight months of 2024, affecting 1,128 unique titles.
PEN America reported more than 10,000 book bans in public schools during the 2023–24 school year, marking an all-time high.
...
What's next: With the DOE backing away from oversight, censorship battles will increasingly play out at the state and local level.
"The fight is far from over," Caldwell-Stone said. "This is about power — who controls what we learn, what we read, and ultimately, what we think."
Book bans are a hoax? Official decree of unjustness and brainwashing this week.https://bookriot.com/department-of-de...
BookRiot's Literary Activism newsletter editor Kelly Jensen announces:
Department of Defense Education Activity Demands Book Bans, Curriculum Censorship in Its Schools
Last week, administrators at Department of Defense Education Activity Schools received a memo directing them to pull certain lessons and materials from their curriculum pending review. Materials include books that are out of alignment with the new administration’s “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” and “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” executive orders. This order comes after the Department of Defense signaled they would be following the Pentagon’s January 31 directive to end all celebrations related to identity and race.
The Department of Defense Education Activity includes 161 schools across seven states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and 11 countries. It serves approximately 67,000 students in military families.
Among the curriculum being reviewed are:
1. A chapter on gender and sexuality taught in Advanced Placement Psychology courses (something that Stars and Stripes points out the College Board did not allow when the Florida Department of Education tried to do the same)
2. A lesson on Albert Cashier, a trans Union solider in the Civil War (I read about him in My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier, and more recently The Civil War of Amos Abernathy)
3. An entire unit on Black history month for sixth graders
4. Comprehensive health skills courses
5. Readings and lessons on immigration for fifth graders
6. Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family a book about a trans activist and her family that sits on a list of independent reading options for a strategic literacy course.
In addition to curriculum reviews, library workers were directed to remove any materials from their school libraries that might contain anything related to “potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology.” Books must be removed from the library and set aside into a staff collection for review. Teachers are also required to do the same culling from classroom collections.
Schools have until February 18 to comply with the directive. There is no information about where or how reviews will occur or whether or not books will eventually return to shelves following said reviews.
This is federally-sanctioned book censorship, coming on the heels of claims by the Department of Education that book banning is “a hoax.” It is a targeted attack on the voices, perspectives, and lives of every student and educator who falls outside the narrow box of cisgender, heterosexual, white, Christian, able-bodied, and male.
The memo Department of Defense Education Activity Europe received made its way across social media. In addition to the book banning and curriculum restrictions, several other directives require removal of pronouns from email signatures, updated signage for facilities within the schools, removal of posters from school facilities showcasing historical women and people of color, and more.
At least one Department of Defense Education Activity school will be shutting down access to the entire facility as staff work to meet compliance deadline. The principal of Weisbaden Middle School, located in Weisbaden, Germany, informed educators in an email that no books shall be borrowed from the library as they begin the process of removal.
What books might fall under either the “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” or “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” remains to be seen. But chances are, like we’ve witnessed since the unfettered rise in book censorship in US public schools since early 2021, the interpretation will be broad and wide-ranging. This will likely include any books about history about marginalized people, books about s--ual assault and r--e, books by or about LGBTQ+ people, and books about puberty and sexuality.
This is the first directive from the new administration specifically calling for the removal of curriculum and of books from educational institutions. It will be far from the last. Going through the Department of Defense Education Activity schools was likely a far faster process–perhaps with a little more legality–than going through the Department of Education and targeting public schools nationwide.
But this will lay the groundwork for the federal government to amplify their demands for removal of books and curriculum throughout public institutions nationwide.
Mod
Great idea! We are definitely going to be doing this (and to keep doing this) and we also bought a bunch of those Canada is not for Sale hats that Ontario premier Doug Ford has been wearing (and which also have 1867 and a Canadian flag on them, with 1867 being the date of Confederation) and have been wearing them continuously.
I wore the Canada is not for Sale hat while lecturing (in my German language class), an American student officially complained and she was actually told by the university not only to basically "shut up" about this but also that more and more professors and students would likely be wearing those hats and carrying Canadian flags and would also be encouraged to do this. The student who complained about the hat has not attended class since and which is an added bonus since she was also one of those students who thought she should get a good mark without doing the work (since her background is German and that this should count for something).
And in my opinion, since Donald Trump keeps threatening to annex Canada (and has supposedly even mused about invading both Canada and Greenland), maybe Canada should temporarily make flying the American flag illegal on Canadian soil until this stops (I know the American consulates and the embassy are of course and sadly off limits but there is for me at present with this ridiculous threat from Thumper no reason why anyone should be flying American flags at least outside on flagpoles in Canada).
PennsylvaniaI simply don't understand why these people can't let librarians and teachers do their jobs!
Pine-Richland School Board moves controversial library book policy forward | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
may be paywalled
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/edu...
Not paywalled version
https://community.triblive.com/news/3...
Board members offered numerous amendments to the proposed policy and even some supposed attempts at “compromise,” which were met with varying reactions.
The four-hour meeting followed a nearly seven-hour meeting in January in which the library resources policy was last discussed.
The new policy would place the final power to add or remove district library books in the hands of the school board rather than the Pine-Richland superintendent.
Previously, the district formed a committee for the review of 14 books challenged by parents in 2023, many of which focused on LGBTQ characters.
The committee offered recommendations to Superintendent Brian Miller, who ultimately recommended that the titles remain. Last year, board members started to revise the library policy to give themselves the final say on school books. The Feb. 10 meeting was the most recent stage of that revision process.
Although normally a more reserved member of the board, Joe Cassidy opened discussions with a request to table the policy because of potentially costly litigation that could emerge from its implementation.
...
After Cassidy’s motion to table discussions failed 5-4, several other amendments were discussed before board member Christina Brussalis introduced a new section to the proposed policy.
She said her interlibrary loan amendment was an attempt at a “compromise” with members who have pushed back on the board’s library policy.
The amendment would allow students — with written permission from a parent or guardian — to request books from a network of libraries in the event a book is removed from the school libraries by the board or never carried at all.
“This is a compromise that would allow everyone to have something,” Brussalis said.
But board members such as Ashley Fortier and Amy Terchick pushed back on the amendment, saying it still represented a “barrier” to student book access. Miller asked the board to consult librarians before it approved the measure. Still, the amendment passed 6-2-1.
Next, Fortier took her shot at amending the policy. She introduced a motion that would have removed a 30-day period between a book’s approval by the superintendent and its introduction to the library.
She also said her amendment was an effort to “compromise.” Though Fortier said the waiting period was “too cumbersome,” board members such as Michael Wiethorn said it gave community members time to potentially “raise issues” with library titles.
“I just feel like this is excessive. I feel like we’re putting the will of these unknown community members ahead of the needs of our students,” Fortier said.
Order briefly broke down soon after as board members disagreed about the fundamental purpose of amending the school’s current library policy, and board member Lisa Hillman asserted that Pine-Richland librarians had not been implementing that policy. That was all while the sometimes unruly crowd cried out at various board members.
Though he previously has said he will follow future board directives, Miller quickly jumped to the defense of the school librarians.
“I believe very much that the librarians were implementing the policy. I believe they were using their training and background to do it,” he said.
Fortier’s amendment and another attempt to table discussions were defeated 5-4.
The board then voted, again 5-4, to approve the first reading of the proposed policy. Brussalis, Hillman, Leslie Miller, Phillip Morrissette and Wiethorn voted to approve the first reading while Marc Casciani, Cassidy, Fortier and Terchick voted not to approve the reading.
The policy will have final confirmation if it is approved and does not see substantial changes during its second reading. If the policy does, however, see changes during its second reading, it will revert back to a first reading.
While those in the room seemed to stalwartly oppose the board majority, several online callers, such as Eli Santiago, expressed approval and gratitude for the majority and its work on the library policy.
Santiago thanked the board for its “focus on academics” and said he felt campaign promises were “being realized.”
Ben Ward, a Pine-Richland junior, said books featuring LGBTQ characters helped to show him he matters, and without them, students would deprived of some “fundamental human experiences.”
“These books, stories of people who lived and loved like I do, made me feel less alone. They gave me a roadmap for understanding myself,” he said.
The school board will next discuss its library policy at its Feb. 24 meeting.
Disney is caving in but never should have given in to the cancel culture. let the old movies stand on their own as a product of their generation. They have also given in to China over the years and censored their movies and now they're doing it because of Trump! https://www.indiewire.com/news/busine...
Disney+ Softens Content Warnings on Old Movies Amid Company Tweaks to DEI Policy
Films like "Dumbo," "The Aristocats," and "Peter Pan" will have a slight change to the pre-roll language.
The effects of the Trump administration’s war on DEI are being felt at Disney. Disney is changing its overall strategy toward diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as the federal government says it will investigate what it believes to be illegal practices by public companies. One of the first changes is coming to Disney+.
Disney+ regularly includes content warnings ahead of older, classic films in its library, including movies like “Dumbo,” “The Aristocats,” “Peter Pan,” and others. Those content warnings that pre-roll before the movie are being tweaked, arguably softened, an individual with knowledge of the changes told IndieWire. The language previously read that these films contain “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of peoples or cultures.” It will now read this: “This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions.”
The effects of the Trump administration’s war on DEI are being felt at Disney. Disney is changing its overall strategy toward diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as the federal government says it will investigate what it believes to be illegal practices by public companies. One of the first changes is coming to Disney+.
Disney+ regularly includes content warnings ahead of older, classic films in its library, including movies like “Dumbo,” “The Aristocats,” “Peter Pan,” and others. Those content warnings that pre-roll before the movie are being tweaked, arguably softened, an individual with knowledge of the changes told IndieWire. The language previously read that these films contain “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of peoples or cultures.” It will now read this: “This program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions.”
Content warnings on some of Disney’s films date back to 2019 when Disney+ launched, but the language has evolved over the years. The latest version is reverting closer to what it was back in 2019.
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Other studios will likely follow Disney in tweaks to their DEI policies as pressure from the Trump administration grows. Disney has especially been a lightning rod for the culture wars, most notably amid the company’s fight with Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis over the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. DeSantis retaliated back in 2023, sparking an ugly legal battle.
Disney has come under fire for other recent moves around representation. It removed a storyline involving a trans character in the Pixar series “Win or Lose” and said in a statement that “many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.” There were also reports that there were calls to make Riley, the protagonist of “Inside Out 2,” appear less gay coded.
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https://www.wistv.com/2025/01/27/lega...
Columbia City Council member Tyler Bailey joined with the Legal Defense Fund to file a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday against a state budget proviso that restricts teaching and materials.
The lawsuit alleges that the state is attempting to discriminate against South Carolina’s Black residents by discouraging teachers and librarians to engage in what is seen as controversial topics. It also alleges that the proviso was put into the budget because the South Carolina legislature failed to pass a bill restricting teachings on the topic critical race theory.
The controversial proviso passed in 2021 makes it so that the South Carolina Department of Education can restrict funding to schools if they teach certain topics about racism, discrimination and gender.
The initial filing, 90-pages long, says the proviso was used to limit the First Amendment. The lawsuit also gives examples of how plaintiffs believe the proviso is being used to ban books.
The Legal Defense Fund is involved in similar litigation regarding what they say is censorship across the country.
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The lawsuit also says that due to the vagueness of the proviso, it is unclear what topics are banned from discussion in the classroom. ...
This puts teachers in an “impossible situation” of trying to understand what information is allowed and what isn’t, the lawsuit said.
“The School Employee Plaintiffs have also faced consequences for failing to correctly interpret the proviso’s vague language,” the lawsuit said.
Chapin High School Librarian Ayanna Mayes, one of the plaintiffs, said there has been “increased surveillance and scrutiny of her work,” since the proviso. The lawsuit outlines a situation where a book called Black is a Rainbow Color was removed for about two weeks after a parent challenged it. The parent went into the high school’s library, took a picture of the book and posted it on Facebook.
Another book called York, by Mary H.K. Choi, was also restricted after the school received online scrutiny, the lawsuit said.
As a result of online harassment, Mayes had to cancel her book of the month program, library-sponsored trivia and a free book table “out of an abundance of caution for fear of violating the Budget Proviso,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the South Carolina’s NAACP, Anti-racist author Ibram X. Kendi, Chapin High School Librarian Ayanna Mayes, Lexington-Richland School District Five teacher Mary Wood, the child of Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, and the child of Amanda Bradley.