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First Amendment Groups Say No to Proposed Book Rating Policy in Appoquinimink

By |2020-01-03T14:58:13-05:00January 12th, 2015|Incidents|

National Coalition Against Censorship Contact: Peter Hart 212.807.6222 // c: 732.266.4932 // [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: First Amendment Groups Say No to Proposed Book Rating Policy in Appoquinimink NEW YORK, January 12, 2015 — The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is urging Delaware's Appoquinimink School District against adopting potentially restrictive book assignment and checkout policy. The district’s new system proposes to [...]

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Supplementation, Not Suppression: Officials in Gilbert, AZ Won’t Redact Pages from a Biology Textbook

By |2024-08-02T12:51:50-04:00December 17th, 2014|Blog|

In October, a few school board members in Gilbert, AZ attracted national attention when they voted 3-2 to yank two pages from an honors Biology textbook. Thankfully, redaction is off the table after the most recent board meeting.

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Warring Parents in Highland Park Disagree over Educational Policy; NCAC Intervenes

By |2019-03-07T22:46:36-05:00November 10th, 2014|Incidents|

NCAC is joined by the American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the National Council of Teachers of English, PEN American Center, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators in a follow-up letter sent to the Highland Park Independent School District in TX. In the letter, we urge [...]

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Removal First, Review Second? NCAC Questions Handling of Challenge to “Black Swan Green”

By |2016-01-25T10:59:05-05:00November 6th, 2014|Incidents|

Today, NCAC was joined by the American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression (ABFFE), the Association of American Publishers (AAP), the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (ALA), and PEN America in a letter sent to the Kings Canyon Unified School District in Reedley, CA. In the letter, the signatories expressed [...]

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The Top 40 Free Speech Defenders of 2014

By |2025-04-07T13:23:47-04:00October 23rd, 2014|Blog|

"Complacency is ever the enabler of darkest deeds." Robert Fanney recognized, as we do at NCAC, that silence and apathy lead to repression and censorship. In our 40th anniversary year, we celebrate the artists, authors, students, educators, librarians, lawmakers, celebs du jour, and yes, even corporations, who refused to remain silent on the top threats to free speech in 2014. [...]

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PULPED!

By |2019-03-15T16:48:12-04:00October 8th, 2014|Blog|

PULP noun: A soft, wet, shapeless mass of material PULPED verb: To crush into a soft, shapeless mass A week into the international controversy over the removal and planned destruction—PULPING—of three children’s picture books by the National Library of Singapore, I read the headline Singapore halts pulping of 'pro-gay' books. The article reported that two of the books, AND TANGO [...]

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Third Time’s the Charm? NCAC Responds to Red-Flagging Policy in WI School District

By |2024-10-24T13:53:42-04:00October 7th, 2014|Incidents|

NCAC and other free speech organizations sent a letter to the Waukesha School District in regard to efforts made to remove Looking for Alaska by John Green, Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini in classrooms and libraries, and to reject the idea of "red-flagging books that deal with sex, rape, extreme violence and brutality, and animal cruelty." In a previous [...]

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Free Speech Groups Urge School District to Reinstate “The Fault in Our Stars” to Middle School Libraries

By |2024-10-24T13:53:40-04:00October 3rd, 2014|Incidents|

NCAC along with seven other other free speech organizations sent a letter to the Riverside Unified School District urging the School Board to reinstate The Fault in Our Stars by John Green to middle school libraries. A reconsideration committee voted to remove the book after a parent of a middle school student raised objections to the novel's language and sexual content. The [...]

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Riverside Schools Want Kids to Think They’re Immortal

By |2019-03-07T22:51:54-05:00September 30th, 2014|Blog|

Author John Green’s work has once again come under the censorship chopping block, this time in Riverside, California. His award-winning love story, The Fault in our Stars, was taken out of middle school libraries because the novel’s subject matter involves two terminally-ill teens who use crude language and have sex. “I just didn't think it was appropriate for an 11-, [...]

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“Persepolis” Under Attack at Glenwood High School; School Board to Meet Tonight (Update: Victory!)

By |2024-10-24T13:52:42-04:00September 29th, 2014|Incidents|

Update: The School Board voted unanimously to keep Persepolis in the 12th grade English IV curriculum in Glenwood High School. In a letter sent to the Ball-Chatham Board of Education today, NCAC and other free-speech organizations urged the Board to reinstate Marjane Satrapi's acclaimed Persepolis to the 12th grade English IV curriculum in Glenwood High School. The Board will meet [...]

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Jefferson County School Board to Review History Curriculum

By |2024-10-24T13:53:38-04:00September 29th, 2014|Incidents|

UPDATE #1: Good news--the plan to 'review' AP History has been scrapped.   *UPDATE #2 : The controversies in JeffCo have still been brewing since NCAC's intervention. The district decided to establish a committee comprised of two board-appointed members, along with students, teachers, and curriculum experts selected by the District. The district hopes that that the issue regarding the curriculum will be [...]

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Another School Year Just Started: Welcome Back to the Book Censorship Wars

By |2025-01-31T12:47:14-05:00September 22nd, 2014|Blog|

NCAC joined forces with author Cory Doctorow earlier this year to intervene on a challenge to his book Little Brother in Pensacola, FL. The following article by NCAC Executive Director Joan Bertin, featured on Doctorow’s Boing Boing website to kick off Banned Books Week 2014, discusses the book banning epidemic that always seems to sweep the nation as kids go [...]

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It’s Perfectly Normal for Books to Go Through Changes Too

By |2024-08-02T16:48:56-04:00September 18th, 2014|Blog|

Sex-Ed was always and will always be the proverbial Catch-22 of every pre-teenager and teenager’s education. They want to know about their bodies: how it works, what’s in store for the future, and whether what they are going through is normal. But we need to face the facts: it’s an awkward subject that no one wants to discuss. Luckily, author [...]

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Sherman Alexie Discusses Book Banning and Censorship

By |2020-01-02T15:10:01-05:00September 16th, 2014|Blog|

Sherman Alexie is one of the most frequently challenged authors in America. Just this year, NCAC intervened in three separate challenges to Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, most recently in Idaho. In this new video, Alexie discusses book banning, censorship, and the erotic novel to which one would-be book banner compared his young adult novel.

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An “Absolute” Mess: West Ada School District Reviews Every Book on Reading List

By |2025-01-30T13:38:16-05:00September 10th, 2014|Incidents|

UPDATE: School Board unanimously voted on September 9 to put Alexie's book back in classrooms...
Last spring, the West Ada School District voted to remove Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian from the 10th grade supplemental reading list after a parent complained about the content of the book. The school district is once again the focal point of First Amendment neglect by requesting a review of all books on supplemental reading lists for grades 6-12.
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Not the First Time Around: “The Kite Runner” and “Chinese Handcuffs” Challenged in Wisconsin School District

By |2020-01-03T14:48:54-05:00August 19th, 2014|Incidents|

The parent of a Waukesha School District high school student has requested that The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher be removed from the district’s libraries, insisting that both novels should be restricted to adults over age 18. This is not the first time that the Waukesha School District has been attacked by parents claiming [...]

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Challenge to “The Handmaid’s Tale” in PA Leaves Summer Reading List in “limbo”

By |2024-10-16T12:41:51-04:00August 18th, 2014|Incidents|

The brother of an incoming senior in New Eagle, PA has formally requested the removal of the award-winning dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood from the Ringgold High School summer reading list, complaining about the novel's “adult nature” and “grossly inappropriate conduct.” The board’s vote to suspend the book was mitigated by the August 12 decision to rescind the book’s [...]

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The Popularity of John Green’s “Pornography”

By |2020-01-03T14:48:53-05:00August 13th, 2014|Blog|

Like family heirlooms passed down through generations, the same books are often retained in school curricular for student after student to read and reflect upon. These classic novels undoubtedly serve to develop the mental and emotional capacities of their readers; they are, after all, “classics.” But even the rebellious Holden Caulfield and the daring Winston Smith can fail to transcend [...]

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Expert Argues That Profanity Is No Reason to Remove Cameron Post From Cape Henlopen High School Summer Reading List

By |2024-10-16T12:40:52-04:00July 23rd, 2014|Updates|

Two weeks ago, NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project and other organizations sent a letter to the Cape Henlopen school district in Delaware expressing serious concerns over the removal of Emily M. Danforth's award-winning novel The Miseducation of Cameron Post, from a summer reading list for the high school's college prep and honors classes. This week, we enlisted the aid of [...]

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John Green’s Looking For Alaska Challenged in Wisconsin

By |2020-01-03T14:48:50-05:00July 21st, 2014|Incidents|

A parent in Waukesha, WI has formally requested a district-wide ban on John Green's award-winning and beloved novel Looking For Alaska, reportedly claiming the book is "not suitable for teenagers." It's worth noting that the book won the American Library Association’s prestigious Michael L. PrintzAward, which is given annually to “the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit.” [...]

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Singapore National Library Should Reconsider Decision to Pulp Children’s Books

By |2024-08-02T16:39:38-04:00July 17th, 2014|Incidents|

From National Coalition Against Censorship (USA), freeDimensional and PEN International July 17, 2014 As organizations committed to freedom of speech and to the universal human value of artistic and literary production, the USA-based National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN International and freeDimensonal are deeply concerned about the decision of the Singapore National Library Board to remove and pulp three children’s books: And [...]

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“Miseducation of Cameron Post” Removed From Cape Henlopen High School, KRRP Responds

By |2024-10-16T12:40:56-04:00July 9th, 2014|Incidents|

Update July 30: The school board has voted 6-1 to eliminate the entire summer reading list for incoming students at Cape Henlopen High School. Rather than reinstate Cameron Post, they will " return to the district's previous summer reading requirements, which demand college preparatory students read one book for the summer and honors students read two books," according to Delmarva Now. Update [...]

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Florida School District Removes John Green’s “Paper Towns” From Summer Reading List (Update: Victory!)

By |2025-01-31T12:52:00-05:00June 30th, 2014|Incidents|

Update 7/16: Paper Towns has reappeared on the latest version of the John Long Middle School summer reading list! Previously: NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project has expressed concerns over the removal of John Green's award-winning novel Paper Towns, from the 8th grade summer reading list at John Long Middle School in Pasco County (FL). A parent who objected to sexual content and references in the book expressed her concerns in an email to a member of the school board, who in turn forwarded the message to school officials on Friday, June 20. By the following Monday, the book had been removed from the reading list, even though the objecting parent did not request the book’s removal, but merely complained because she had not been alerted to its content.

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UnWholly by Neal Shusterman Removed From 7th Grade Class in Kentucky

By |2018-06-26T13:42:05-04:00June 11th, 2014|Incidents|

NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project has sent a letter to the Murray Independent Schools district in Kentucky regarding the decision to remove the novel UnWholly from 7th grade reading at Murray Middle School, and the ongoing conversation about book challenge policies and how they are implemented in the district. The parent of a student complained that the book’s content [...]

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Florida School’s Cancelling Little Brother Assignment Causes Big First Amendment Concerns For National Organizations

By |2020-01-03T14:47:43-05:00June 9th, 2014|Incidents|

In a letter sent today, NCAC’s Kids’ Right to Read Project expressed concerns over the cancellation of Cory Doctorow's novel Little Brother, as the assigned text for Booker T. Washington High School's school-wide summer reading program. The letter points out that "the book was selected after an extensive process by the professional staff", yet the program was cancelled despite "no formal [...]

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Potential Challenge to Absolutely True Diary in Same NC County Where Color Purple Was Under Threat

By |2019-03-07T22:49:27-05:00June 4th, 2014|Incidents|

No lie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian will likely face another challenge, this time in Brunswick County, North Carolina, where the The Color Purple was challenged earlier this year. NCAC sent a letter in the Color Purple case and the book was ultimately kept. A formal challenge has yet to be filed regarding Absolutely True Diary, though NCAC sent the below [...]

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“Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You” Survives School Library Challenge!

By |2024-10-16T12:38:06-04:00May 15th, 2014|Updates|

District 196, serving the Rosemount – Apple Valley – Eagan regions near the Twin Cities, has announced that the committee convened to decide whether the book Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You should be retained in the district's libraries has voted 10-0 to keep the work. A parent challenged the book for the use of the word "retarded" in the story. The review process [...]

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“Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You” Challenged in School Libraries Near the Twin Cities

By |2024-10-16T12:35:16-04:00May 14th, 2014|Incidents|

Update: The book as been retained. Click here for details on the decision. Barthe DeClements' award-winning Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You has been challenged for a school library removal in Rosemount - Apple Valley - Eagan Public Schools (District 196) near the Twin Cities in Minnesota. A parent filed a complaint over the use of the word "retarded" in the [...]

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“Two Boys Kissing” Book Challenge Rejected by Fauquier Review Committee, Decision Could Be Appealed

By |2024-10-31T17:16:34-04:00April 29th, 2014|Updates|

According to Fauquier.com, a Fauquier County Public Schools review committee has unanimously rejected a book challenge that would have removed David Levithan's Two Boys Kissing from the high school library. NCAC's Kids' Right To Read Project sent a letter to the school board prior to the meeting, warning that removing the book based on objections to the content was a disservice [...]

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“Two Boys Kissing” could be purged from Fauquier High School library

By |2020-01-03T14:43:56-05:00April 23rd, 2014|Incidents|

Update: A review committee unanimously decided to keep the book, though an appeal is possible. NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project has written the Fauquier County Public Schools superintendent and board with regard to a challenge to David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing in the Fauquier High School library, because of objections to the same-sex themes explored in the book. We [...]

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Huxley’s Classic ‘Brave New World’ Targeted in Delaware

By |2022-09-23T11:58:16-04:00April 10th, 2014|Incidents|

NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project has sent a letter to the Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware to warn against labeling Aldous Huxley's 20th Century classic Brave New World as potentially "inappropriate" for some Advanced Placement English students, as has been proposed by school board members. Though no one on the board has yet proposed that the book be removed [...]

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Victory! ‘House of the Spirits’ Stays in Watauga County Classrooms

By |2024-10-25T12:08:07-04:00February 27th, 2014|Incidents|

After close to six months of community debate, freedom to read advocates in Boone, North Carolina are breathing a sigh of relief. Last night, a 3-2 school board vote held that Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits could be taught again in Watauga County Schools.

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Happy Birthday to the Wonderful, the Fabulous, the Fantastic – JUDY BLUME!

By |2016-01-14T11:41:00-05:00February 12th, 2014|Blog|

People, super serious question: what ever would we do without Judy Blume? Judy's books helped many of us navigate the troubled seas of adulthood (you former young ladies of the world know what I'm talking about). They entertained us, emboldened us, held our hands and assured us we were not alone. And her brave and tireless advocacy on behalf of [...]

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Yet Another Challenge to Sherman Alexie’s ‘Absolutely True Diary’ in Sweet Home, OR

By |2020-01-03T14:37:48-05:00February 11th, 2014|Incidents|

NCAC's Kids' Right to Read Project activated to advise a reconsideration committee in Sweet Home, OR to retain the use of Alexie's popular young adult novel in 8th grade classrooms. Parents and other citizens whose children do not even attend Sweet Home Public Schools have complained about the book's content. Before the book was taught, teachers in Sweet Home Middle [...]

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Did you catch it? NCAC Allies Shine in Al Jazeera Conversation About Book Censorship

By |2024-08-16T10:59:08-04:00January 16th, 2014|Blog|

Last night, Al Jazeera America's The Stream dedicated its show to a topic near and dear to NCAC's work and hearts: book challenges and bans in the U.S. Joining the show was author Carolyn Mackler, whose works NCAC has defended throughout the years, as well as partners-in-activism Isaiah Zukowski and Lynn Bruno. Isaiah spoke out as a high school senior when [...]

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