The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) released the following statement in response to today’s horrific attack on Salman Rushdie, a brave defender of free speech. The NCAC is an alliance of 59 national nonprofit organizations that is committed to the non-partisan defense of free expression.
The National Coalition Against Censorship has delivered a letter to the Auburn Enlarged City School District Board in Auburn, New York, in response to proposed amendments to its Instructional Materials and Controversial Issues policy that will allow parents to limit access to school library materials. Policy amendments are in response to complaints made early this year about All Boys Aren't [...]
At a time when threats to books in schools and libraries have reached an unprecedented level, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), has elected a new chair of its Board of Directors—Emily Knox, a leading scholar of information and library science who possesses deep expertise in the fields of intellectual freedom and information access.
The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the School Board of Central Bucks School District in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, after recent proposed changes to the District’s Library Materials Policy raised serious censorship concerns. The Board voted to adopt the policy on July 26, 2022. The policy leaves the authority to remove materials in the hands of a single person. NCAC [...]
Updated 11/28/23 - The graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe was returned to school libraries, although students must request access from the nurse. 7/19/22 - The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Fairview School District School Board in Fairview, Pennsylvania, regarding a recent decision to remove Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer from the Fairview High School library. [...]
The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Superintendent of Foster-Glocester Regional School District in Glocester, Rhode Island, after students at Ponaganset High School were silenced for expressing their personal views. The students in question, according to The Providence Journal, brought “anti-tolerant” flags to school following a Pride Month celebration. It is unclear if the students faced disciplinary action, but [...]
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut, removed a work from an exhibition because it was considered by the museum to be “inappropriate for children.”
NCAC has written to the Nampa School District in Idaho after the School Board voted to permanently remove 22 books from the District’s libraries.
A York, South Carolina, councilperson blocked a constituent from posting on her Facebook page, a violation of the First Amendment as the courts have ruled the social media pages can serve as public forums.
A Virginia legal action against two books profoundly threatens the freedom to read and could limit the availability of books in the state.
A school district in Walton County, Florida, recently received challenges to more than fifty library books.
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.
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 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 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 [...]
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.
Thirty books have been removed from Prosper Independent School District libraries in Prosper, Texas, without following the district’s book challenge procedures.
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 [...]
George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue was removed from from libraries in Wicomico County Public Schools in Maryland, without review.
An assistant principal in Raymond, Mississippi, was terminated because he read the book, I Need A New Butt, to students at the school.
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".
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.
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 [...]
Schools in Yorktown Heights, New York, removed several books from library shelves after a challenge was filed but not yet reviewed.
North Thurston Public Schools in Lacey, Washington, recently barred students from protesting on its campuses.
Wentzville, Missouri, schools remove Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye after incorrectly labeling it obscene.
Arkansas school district removes "Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out" from school libraries against the recommendation of its own review committee.
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.
Forsyth County Schools in Cumming, Georgia, removed numerous books from school libraries in violation of district regulations.
Schools in Granbury, Texas, removed 130 books from library shelves before reviewing a single one.
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 Public Schools in Florida removed sixteen library books before completing an official review.
School officials in Athens, Georgia, removed student artwork celebrating gay rights and compared displaying a rainbow flag to displaying a swastika in the classroom.
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.
School officials in Wayzata, Minnesota, recently removed Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison from the Wayzata High School library in violation of District regulations.
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.
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.
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.
Illinois school district pressured to remove books from school libraries by violent alt-right gang Proud Boys.
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.
