Jason Reynolds to headline Banned Books Week 2021, which has the theme, “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” Two of Reynolds' books for young people made the Top 10 banned and challenged books of 2020 for their handling of issues around racism and racial justice.
Leander, Texas, school district has removed LGBTQ books from optional reading lists in middle and high school classes.
The National Coalition Against Censorship is disturbed by the decision of Dr. Seuss Enterprises to cease publication of six children’s books by Dr. Seuss because of their implicit racism.
Publishers serve a critical role in our democracy by disseminating the books that inspire public debate. NCAC is deeply concerned by any attempt to limit what books get written, published and circulated based on the personal beliefs of a group of people who work in publishing.
A school district in Vail, Arizona, is considering removing Slaughterhouse Five from classroom teaching after a parent complained about references to sex.
A Louisiana library removed LGBTQ books from the children's section after receiving several complaints.
NCAC asked Chloe Bauer and Sungjoo Yoon, former students in the Burbank Unified School District, to tell us why they felt the District was wrong to remove five classic books from classrooms.
Former students in the Burbank Unified School District explain why they felt the District was wrong to remove five classic books.
Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, Theodore Taylor's The Cay, and Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, challenged in Burbank Unified School District.
New resource guides teachers and school administrators navigating book challenges.
The Free Expression Educators Handbook contains practical tools and advice for managing book challenges and censorship controversies in schools and school libraries. The handbook, created by NCAC in collaboration with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), is intended for teachers, librarians, and school administrators. It offers guidance for educators developing inclusive and viewpoint-neutral instructional material policies, including sample [...]
North Carolina lawsuit demands that public schools protect one religious viewpoint above others by banning Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X.
A California school district removed the novel Ghost Boys, which tells the story of a Black boy shot by police, from its curriculum.
Lauded graphic novel Fun Home was removed from high school classrooms by a principal in Nevada, violating district policy and threatening students' right to read.
When a school board in Alaska voted in April to remove five classic books from a high school reading list, it had no idea that it would outrage many in the community as well as several alumni of the school who are now rock stars. Although the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough School Board reversed its decision a month later, the controversy [...]
President Donald Trump is once again attempting to interfere with the publication of a book that he believes is critical of him. On June 16, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in an effort to block the June 23 release of The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, a book by John R. Bolton, Trump’s former national [...]
NCAC urges Mat-Su school board to reverse decision to remove five classic texts from high school curriculum.
The American Library Association released its annual list of the top 10 most challenged books of the past year. 80% of titles tell LGBTQ stories.
Following a walkout by members of its staff, Hachette announced that it has canceled the publication of a memoir by Woody Allen.
Wyoming school district considering a book challenge filed by a parent who argued against books about LGBTQ characters being available to students.
NCAC disappointed at cancellation of American Dirt book tour. Debate is essential in a free society.
The National Coalition Against Censorship and the other national groups signed below call upon the Missouri legislature to reject Missouri House Bill 2044, a recently introduced library censorship bill. The bill poses urgent dangers to the constitutional rights of Missouri’s citizens, including librarians, parents, and children. It is also redundant in light of existing Missouri law that already makes it [...]
Columbia County Superintendent removed three novels from the proposed high school curriculum despite teachers' recommendations.
This list of our best resources on censorship and the First Amendment in schools will help you get ready for the school year.
This school year we want you to be prepared to defend your right to speak, think and create.
Laurie Sheck, a professor at the New School, is under investigation after using the N-word in a class while quoting James Baldwin.
Joan Bertin (former executive director, NCAC), Toni Morrison, Fran Lebowitz “The thought that leads me to contemplate with dread the erasure of other voices, of unwritten novels, poems whispered or swallowed for fear of being overheard by the wrong people, outlawed languages flourishing underground, essayists’ questions challenging authority never being posed, unstaged plays, canceled films—that thought is a nightmare. As [...]
Controversy arose in Hanover County, Virginia, after a parent complained about PRIDE: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag being read aloud in a second-grade classroom.
Federal courts have repeatedly affirmed that prisoners have a First Amendment right to read, and publishers and others have a right to send them reading materials. And state departments of corrections have repeatedly instituted broad book bans.
When a nation built on broad protections for speech faces times of deep political division, it must draw a firm line between freedom of speech and violent conduct or disruptive behavior aimed at silencing others.
ALA's Most Challenged Books list for 2018 is dominated by LGBTQ stories and characters, reflecting a growing trend.
We join PEN America, a member of our coalition, in opposing Washington State’s decision to restrict access to used books in prisons.
Despite hard-won progress towards LGBTQ equality, books centering LGBTQ characters and stories remain among the most frequently challenged and banned in schools and libraries. The freedom to read stories about people of diverse sexual and gender identities can validate and empower all youth, especially those who may identify as LGBTQ. When LGBTQ youth do not see themselves represented in [...]
Maine lawmaker's attempts to label educational material obscene threatens intellectual freedom.
Maine lawmaker's attempts to label educational material obscene threatens intellectual freedom.
The novel by Fredrik Backman has been banned district-wide after parents complained about vulgarity and graphic scenes.
A group of pastors in Rumford, Maine are attempting to have LGBTQ books banned from the Rumford Public Library's display of banned books.
Controversy arose over the announcement that the library would host the family-focused program, which features reading, singing and crafts presided over by drag queens.
Kick off summer with NCAC's recommendations for books that amplify LGBTQ stories and voices, and that are frequently banned in schools!
Fun Home is under attack again, this time in a New Jersey High School.
