NCAC Advises Walton County, Florida, School Board to Strengthen Book Challenge Procedures
A school district in Walton County, Florida, recently received challenges to more than fifty library books.
California School District Cancels Student Production of “Be More Chill” | UPDATED
Turlock, California, school district canceled remaining high school performances of "Be More Chill" after one show because of concerns that the content is not suitable for younger audience members.
Florida School District Removes Call Me Max and I Am Jazz from Libraries
Kyle Lukoff’s Call Me Max and Jazz Jennings’s I Am Jazz, which both feature transgender main characters, were removed from school libraries in Palm Beach County, Florida, without review. NCAC has written to the district urging them to immediately return the books to library shelves. The removal was purportedly in compliance with Florida House Bill 1557 which was recently signed [...]
NCAC Statement on Florida’s Education Legislation
NCAC is deeply concerned about a series of new Florida laws that threaten the ability of students to access information and are likely to cause a dramatic increase in censorship in Florida’s public schools.
NCAC Objects to Removal of Library Books in Texas School District
NCAC has written to officials at Fredericksburg Independent School District in Texas after numerous books were removed from district libraries without a formal review based on arguments that they are “pervasively vulgar.” The books in question, which include, among others, Jesse Andrews’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, address issues that [...]
NCAC Criticizes Texas State Representative Patterson’s Attempt to Bully His State’s Educators to Censor School Books
A Texas State Representative and 21 other members of the Texas House wrote an intimidating and misleading letter to every school district in the state in an attempt to censor books.
School District in Prosper, Texas, Removes 30 Books In Violation of Procedure
Thirty books have been removed from Prosper Independent School District libraries in Prosper, Texas, without following the district’s book challenge procedures.
Texas Students Distribute BIPOC and LGBTQ+ Books During ‘FReadom Week’ Initiative | Student Perspective
When Jerry Craft's New Kid was banned from school libraries in Katy, Texas earlier this year for "pervasively vulgar" content, I defended his book and advocated against this inexplicable censorship. After that, school board meetings in Texas only intensified. After months of persistent demands for intellectual freedom being outnumbered by conservatives and drowned out by more book bans, we finally [...]
Maryland’s Wicomico County Public Schools Remove All Boys Aren’t Blue from District Libraries With No Review
George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue was removed from from libraries in Wicomico County Public Schools in Maryland, without review.
Mississippi Teacher Fired for Reading Unapproved Picture Book to Students
An assistant principal in Raymond, Mississippi, was terminated because he read the book, I Need A New Butt, to students at the school.
NCAC Criticizes Pennsylvania School for Stifling Student’s Political Speech By Prohibiting “Let’s Go Brandon” T-Shirt
Port Allegany School District in Pennsylvania may have violated a student's First Amendment rights by requiring them to remove clothing with the message "Let's Go Brandon".
NCAC and National Teacher Organizations’ Statement on The Freedom to Teach
School districts are the most active battlefield in the American culture wars today. Teachers need our support; they need our trust; they need to have the freedom to exercise their professional judgment.
Free Speech and the War in Ukraine
In times of war, free speech suffers. Right and wrong appear indisputable. There is moral certainty that “God is on our side.” When we are convinced that the enemy is producing only dangerous lies and propaganda, we want to bar their entry into the marketplace of ideas. The war between Russia and Ukraine is the latest test of our commitment [...]
Yorktown Heights, New York, School District Removes Challenged Library Books Before Completing Review
Schools in Yorktown Heights, New York, removed several books from library shelves after a challenge was filed but not yet reviewed.
Washington State School District Bans Student Protest
North Thurston Public Schools in Lacey, Washington, recently barred students from protesting on its campuses.
Wentzville, Missouri, School District Bans Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Calls Book “Obscene” | Updated
Wentzville, Missouri, schools remove Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye after incorrectly labeling it obscene.
School Board Overrules Review Committee to Remove Beyond Magenta from School Libraries in Siloam Springs, Arkansas
Arkansas school district removes "Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out" from school libraries against the recommendation of its own review committee.
NCAC Urges New York State School District to Allow Students with Differing Views to Display Art on Controversial Issues
NCAC is urging Eastport-South Manor Central School District in Manorville, New York, to allow students of differing views to display art on school grounds.
Toni Morrison Novel Among At Least 8 Books Removed From Forsyth County, Georgia, School Libraries
Forsyth County Schools in Cumming, Georgia, removed numerous books from school libraries in violation of district regulations.
Granbury, Texas, School District Removes 130 Books While Rewriting Book Review Process
Schools in Granbury, Texas, removed 130 books from library shelves before reviewing a single one.
Body Language: 2021 Film Contest Winners
For this year’s YFEP Film Contest, we invited teens to create a film on the importance of expressing one’s gender and identity through personal appearance. The 3 winners tackled a wide range of polarizing, and often taboo, topics including gun violence, immigrant family separation, gender equality, toxic masculinity, shaming and bullying, and climate change. The Chairs of the New [...]
Polk County, Florida, School District Removes Sixteen Books From School Libraries | Updated
Polk County Public Schools in Florida removed sixteen library books before completing an official review.
NCAC Objects to Removal of Student’s LGBTQ Artwork in Georgia School
School officials in Athens, Georgia, removed student artwork celebrating gay rights and compared displaying a rainbow flag to displaying a swastika in the classroom.
Tennessee School District Bans Teaching of Acclaimed Holocaust Novel MAUS
A Tennessee school district has banned the teaching of Art Spiegelman's Pulitizer Prize-winning graphic novel, MAUS, in its eighth grade unit on the Holocaust.
Wayzata, Minnesota, School Removes Lawn Boy Against District Regulations
School officials in Wayzata, Minnesota, recently removed Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison from the Wayzata High School library in violation of District regulations.
It’s Perfectly Normal and In the Night Kitchen Removed from Llano County Library in Texas
The National Coalition Against Censorship is concerned about the recent removal of two books from Texas's Llano County library: It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris; and In The Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak.
NCAC and ACLU Defend Public’s Right to Information in Project Veritas v. New York Times Case
The National Coalition Against Censorship joined the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union in support of The New York Times’ right to report and publish information related to Project Veritas.
Concerns Over Extensive Book Review at North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas
One of Texas's largest school districts removed hundreds of books for review, in violation of district policy, in response to a legislator's investigation of books in schools.
NCAC Offers Support to Illinois School District in Updating Book Challenge Policies
Illinois school district pressured to remove books from school libraries by violent alt-right gang Proud Boys.
NCAC Leads Coalition Statement on the Attack on Books in Schools
An organized political attack on books in schools threatens the education of America’s children. NCAC and over 600 co-signers are deeply concerned about this sudden rise in censorship and its impact on education, the rights of students, and freedom of expression.
Remembering Phil Harvey: Free Speech Defender
The free speech community lost a great champion on December 2, 2021, with the passing of Phil Harvey.
Keller, Texas, School District Censors Library Books in Violation of Policy
Keller Independent School District in Keller, TX, recently appeared to violate its own policies when it removed several books from school library shelves.
NCAC Protests District’s Removal of Gender Queer from School Libraries in Pinellas County, Florida
The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Board of Education of Pinellas County Schools in Largo, FL, to protest the recent removal of Gender Queer from school libraries shelves. This is the latest in a series of book removals across the country that ignore policy and best practice in removing books before a formal review takes place.
NCAC Objects to Removal of Lawn Boy and Gender Queer from Fairfax, Virginia, School Libraries | UPDATED
Fairfax County, Virginia, school district removed two books, Lawn Boy and Gender Queer, from school libraries after a parent complaint.
Kansas City, Missouri, District Censors Fun Home and All Boys Aren’t Blue in School Libraries | UPDATED
North Kansas City Schools improperly censored two books--Fun Home and All Boys Aren't Blue--from district libraries in violation of their book review policy.
School District in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Reviewing Gender Queer in School Libraries | UPDATED
Superintendent in Harrisonburg, Virginia, unilaterally removed Gender Queer from school libraries in violation of district policy and free expression principles.
New Jersey School Censors Student’s Black Lives Matter Poster in African American Culture Display
A student’s Black Lives Matter poster was censored at Hillsborough Middle School in New Jersey because of apparent disagreement with the political views it expressed.
Florida’s Brevard County Public Schools Remove Gender Queer from Library Shelves Without Review
Brevard County Public Schools in central Florida recently removed Maia Kobabe's graphic novel/memoir Gender Queer from school library shelves without regard to its own book challenge procedures.
Orlando, Florida, School District Ignores Procedures in Removing Gender Queer from Libraries
A school district in Orlando, Florida, violated its book challenge procedures in removing Gender Queer from libraries without formal review.
Spotsylvania County Public Schools Issue Unconstitutional Order to Remove “Sexually Explicit” Books from Libraries | UPDATED: Order Revoked
NCAC has objected to an unconstitutional order from Spotsylvania County Public Schools in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that “sexually explicit” books be removed from district libraries.