Markham Intermediate School in Staten Island, NY pulled Assassination Classroom, a best-selling manga comic by Yusei Matui, from library shelves after a parent complained about the book’s title and fictional superhero themes.
A library in Kansas is considering a second challenge to three widely-lauded LGBTQ books for youth.
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.
Mahwah Township elementary schools have instituted a new policy that limits students' ability to check out books to once every two to three weeks.
The Utah Education Network voted to deny access to EBSCO, a longtime, well-respected distributor of educational content that is used nationally in libraries and schools.
NCAC supports the Houston Public Library’s commitment to open and diverse programming.
Fort Myers High School in Florida has removed City of Thieves, a 2008 novel by David Benioff, one of the creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones, from the 10th grade curriculum.
Shorewood High School canceled the production hours before it was scheduled to debut, to the dismay of both supporters and planned protesters.
A group of pastors in Rumford, Maine are attempting to have LGBTQ books banned from the Rumford Public Library's display of banned books.
Both The Hate U Give and All American Boys have been highly praised for their complex handling of stories centering on the intersections of racism and police violence, but local police are challenging the books' inclusion on Waldo High School's summer reading list.
A key step to defending the right to read freely in your school is understanding the policies that govern the selection and review of instructional materials. What To Look For A Clear Selection Procedure: A good policy should outline a clear process and criteria for textbook selection. Criteria can include subject matter relevance, accuracy, and recommended grade level. These same [...]
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.
A group called the Concerned Parents of San Diego held their children from school to protest the district's Sexual Health Education Program, SHEP. Among the material the group finds objectionable is the award-winning It's Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris.
Student journalists at Prosper High School wrote to their Superintendent to protest the dismissal of their journalism instructor and the repeated censorship of editorial pieces in the student publication, Eagle Nation Online.
Often, the most frequently challenged books tell the stories that most need to be heard. The 10 most challenged books of 2017, according to the American Library Association, were no different.
Maggie Budzyna's debut film, CENSORED, tackles the slippery slope of banning words from public dialogue. We spoke with the 17-year-old filmmaker about censorship, youth activism and the importance of using her artistic freedom to resist injustice. Watch her film and read the interview.
When her school district banned her favorite book, The Hate U Give, from libraries, 15-year old Ny'Shira Lundy was inspired to take action.
After a review committee voted to keep Tanya Lee Stone's novel in Cody Public School libraries, the school board elected to remove it.
While it is understandable that a novel that repeatedly uses a highly offensive racial slur would generate discomfort among some parents and students, the problems of living in a society where racial tensions persist will not be resolved by banishing literary classics from the classroom.
With a Texas school board set to meet on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to determine the fate of an acclaimed young adult novel in district libraries, a local teenager has emerged as a vital voice for freedom of inquiry and expression.
Deyshia Hargrave was inappropriately removed from a school board meeting in Louisiana. The First Amendment guarantees all Americans a right to speak, inquire and petition the government.
During a year of marked ideological divisions, the right to free expression has been challenged by everyone from the alt-right to the far left. Our core values have been attacked by activists across the political spectrum. In this tumultuous year, we commend the allies who refuse to be silenced and continue to defend the right to free speech and its value to our society.
An Open Letter to the Baltimore City Public School District: The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and its partners in the Kids’ Right to Read Project urge administrators to return BUCK: A Memoir by Professor M.K. Asante to the high school curriculum so that students can see their lives reflected in the books they read. Its removal was arbitrary and damaging to students.
Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give has been removed from school libraries in Katy Independent School District in suburban Houston, Texas. After reviewing the district’s own book review policy, NCAC is formally urging the district’s superintendent to reinstate the book while it is under review.
Cody District Public Schools will convene a committee in early December to determine whether Tanya Stone’s acclaimed novel, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, will remain in the Cody High School library after a single parent complaint led to an appeal for its removal.
A CA school board is set to vote on a widely criticized policy that would stoke parental fears and anxieties, invite self-censorship and wreak havoc with the curriculum.
Although some may understandably dislike the book’s use of racial slurs, it is essential to any realistic and pedagogically sound understanding of our nation’s history.
The groups argue the decision to immediately cease teaching the book in response to a single complaint imposes a “heckler’s veto” on the curriculum and deprives all students of their First Amendment right to read a pedagogically valuable, National Book Award-winning novel. UPDATE: Book restored to curriculum!
In a letter sent last week to the Annandale Board of Education, NCAC affirmed that the right of students to read pedagogically valuable literature must be prioritized over the subjective concerns of select parents
David Levithan, an award-winning author and editor of dozens of books, will be honored along with former NCAC Executive Director Joan Bertin, at the NCAC Celebration of Free Speech and Its Defenders on Nov. 6 in New York.
If you are embroiled in a censorship controversy, this is the resource for you. NCAC's action kit offers practical advise for understanding, addressing and fighting censorship incidents.
The board met on Monday night to review their literature policy in light of the controversy but voted unanimously to keep it unchanged.
NCAC is praising the grassroots efforts of Chicagoans who have set an example for the rest of the country.
The trial will decide whether the cancellation of the Mexican-American studies curriculum in 2010 in Tucson Arizona was done with discriminatory intent.
In the face of discord and subjective morality-based arguments, the board stood up for the rights of all of its students to learn in a safe and respectful environment.
The groups emphasize that the mere presence of explicit language and violence in a book provides no justification for its removal.
The award will be presented at the 2017 American Library Association Annual Conference during its Opening General Session on Friday, June 24, in Chicago.
