The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Colorado, American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and NCAC submitted a brief on Februrary 18, 2010, to a Colorado Court of Appeals arguing that the University of Colorado, a publicly funded university, should reinstate a tenured professor who was wrongly terminated from his job there for exercising his right to free speech.
NCAC is protesting the censorship of an artwork to be displayed at a city-owned gallery in Temecula, CA. Jeff Hebron’s painting, which had been selected for inclusion in Visual Expressions 2010, was removed from the exhibition because it depicted a nude figure.
Robert Frost Elementary in Washington State canceled the touring theatre-troupe Studio East's production of the Emperor's New Clothes due to fears that students would imitate the bad behavior of some of the characters.
An upcoming exhibition at The John Slade Ely House for Contemporary Art in New Haven is overshadowed by the organizers’ decision to censor one of the artworks in the show. After numerous requests that Richard Kamler modify parts of his installation, and a month before the opening of the show, the organizers rejected his work for fear some members of the community may be offended.
Kids' Right to Read Protests Efforts to Censor Young Adult Author Ellen Hopkins in Oklahoma
Kids' Right to Read Opposes Censorship at Panther Valley Middle School
Kids' Right to Read Objects to Censorship in Kentucky High School
Kids' Right to Read Protests Efforts to Remove Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
North Pocono High School
Temecula Valley Unified School District
Several school districts did not show President Obama’s Back to School Speech on September 8th.
We write to protest the decision to remove all images of Mohammed from the forthcoming book, The Cartoons That Shook the World, by Jytte Klausen, which will be published by Yale University Press in early October. The University’s role in that decision compromises the principle and practice of academic freedom, undermines the independence of the Press, damages the University’s credibility, and diminishes its reputation for scholarship.
Kids' Right to Read Project Interview with Ellen Hopkins, author of the Banned Book Week Manifesto
Letter to Leesburg City Commission Aug 21, 2009
Voices Against Book Censorship interviews author, blogger Lee Wind
On June 18, the Litchfield District School Board in New Hampshire decided to remove four short stories from the “Love/Gender/Family” unit of an upper-class elective English class at Campbell High School. The stories, including "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, "Survivor Type" by Stephen King, "The Crack Cocaine Diet" by Laura Lippman, and "I Like Guys" by David Sedaris.
The Kids' Right to Read Project opposes the removal of Vibe magazine from Randolph High School's library in Randolph, WI after the school's principal, Tom Erdmann complained about the magazine's“gang violence/activity” and “gang symbols/materials.” Dr. Greg Peyer Superintendent Randolph School District 110 Meadowood Drive Randolph, WI 53956 [...]
NCAC urges Superintendent to reverse his decision to ban student play On February 25, school board members in La Grande, OR voted to uphold Superintendent Larry Glaze’s decision to censor a student production of Steve Martin’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile”, ignoring spirited and articulate appeals from the High School principal and drama teacher. It was yet another disturbing [...]
The Kids' Right to Read Project opposed the censorship of Jason Tirado’s poem, ‘Diary of an Abusive Stepfather’, in the teen poetry anthology, Paint Me Like I Am by Bill Aquado and Richard Newirth (Harper) in Landis Intermediate School. In May 2009, Principal Don Kohaut literally ripped the pages including the poem from the book after one parent complained. KRRP sent this letter in response to the challenge.
6/23/2009 updated 11/5/2010 — In April 2009, students in Knoxville, Tennessee successfully challenged the Internet filtering policy in place at their school which was blocking access to LGBT websites. After the ACLU filed a lawsuit on the students' behalf, the school districts in question consented to change the filter settings that were unconstitutionally blocking the websites.
The Kids' Right to Read Project opposed a challenge to Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar (Hachette) and The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson (Peguin) in the Leesburg, Florida Public Library in April 2009 after a parent objected to the sexual content and drug references in the books. KRRP sent this letter in response to the challenge.
Last week, the Utah Legislature overwhelmingly approved House Bill 353, the “Truth in Advertising” amendments in yet another effort to legally enforce the private voluntary rating schemes used by industry to inform consumers about the contents of movies, video games, and music. We strongly oppose it and urge you to veto it.
In an email to faculty BGSU Interim Provost stated that “the piece was initially removed so that [] legal review could occur.” Apparently, BGSU administrators wondered whether “the sculpture constituted child pornography or breached restrictions on depictions of child abuse.”
NCAC has joined many First Amendment, civil liberties, and minority rights organizations in a letter calling on an end to "ideological exclusion." During the Bush administration, international academics and writers were denied visas to the United States based on their political beliefs.
The Kids' Right to Read Project sent the letter below to the school board and superintendent at Crook County Schools to oppose the ongoing ban on classroom use of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. After the superintendent removed the book in violation of district policy, a committee reviewed the book and voted to reinstate it. The book was returned to the library, but it remains suspended from classroom use while the superintendent, school board, and a committee review the district’s policies on instructional materials.
NCAC joined other free speech organizations in sending a letter urging members of the Topeka, Kansas, library board to restore The Joy of Sex and three other sex education books to public library shelves.
Rosemary DePaolo Chancellor UNC Wilmington 601 South College Road Wilmington, N.C. 28403-3297 [email protected] February 27, 2009 Dear Chancellor DePaolo- On behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of over 50 national non-profit organizations united in defense of free expression, I would like to express deep concern over the removal of a substantial part of The Century Project photo [...]
On February 25, school board members in La Grande, OR voted to uphold Superintendent Larry Glaze’s decision to censor a student production of Steve Martin’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile”, ignoring spirited and articulate appeals from the High School principal and drama teacher. It was yet another disturbing case of school officials catering to the more censorious voices in their community. Prior to the board meeting, NCAC urged Superintendent Glaze to reconsider his decision.
The Wyandotte, MI, School Board has banned The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad from classrooms and the library at Roosevelt High School while the book is reviewed by a reconsideration committee. One student's parents and her "spiritual mentor" object to violence and sexual content and asked that the book be removed in the fall. The book was being taught in honors English classes. It was removed from the library and placed in the superintendent's office earlier this month.
Cleburne ISD Superintendent Dr. Ronny Beard removed The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett from the Cleburne High School curriculum in Cleburne, TX, after parents complained about sexual content in the book. The Pillars of the Earth had been part of the senior honors English curriculum at Cleburne High since 1996. Parents complained after the book was assigned this past summer, even though the teacher offered an alternative assignment for those who objected to the book.
The Kids' Right to Read Project sent this letter to the superintendent and school board, opposing the book ban:
Night Talk by Elizabeth Cox was challenged in fall 2008 for its sexual content by one parent who requested that the book be removed from the library at South Gwinnett High School. A school-based committee denied the request in November 2008 and decided to keep the book in the library.
The Kids' Right to Read Project sent a letter to the System Review Committee and Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, opposing the challenges:
School officials in Crook County, OR, removed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie from ninth grade English classes at Crook County High School after one parent complained about a passage that discussed masturbation. The Kids' Right to Read Project sent a letter to the Crook County superintendent and school board, opposing the book's removal.
December 3, 2008 Superintendent Richard B. Carter Principal Darcy Weisner Walla Walla Public Schools 364 South Park Street Walla Walla, WA99362 Dear Principal Darcy Weisner and Superintendent Richard B. Carter: We are deeply concerned about the recent suspension of Meagan White from Walla WallaHigh School because of a bumper sticker on her vehicle. Walla Walla School Board’s official “Freedom [...]
The Book of Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley was challenged by one parent who wants the book removed from the library at Central Linn High School in Brownsville, OR. The Kids' Right to Read Project sent a letter to the school board in support of keeping the book in the library.
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane was challenged for use in ninth grade English classes at Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls, MN. Some parents objected to sexual violence and graphic language in the book. NCAC and ABFFE wrote a letter to the school board, urging that the book be retained in the curriculum.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya was banned from high school classes in Newman-Crows Landing (CA) Unified School District. NCAC and ABFFE sent a letter to the Modesto Bee:
Two parents challenged the picture book, And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for use in elementary school libraries in Ankeny, Iowa. The parents objected to the story of two male penguins who parent a chick because they say the book is not "age-appropriate". NCAC and ABFFE wrote a letter to the Ankeny School Board opposing the challenges.
