New PEN Report Discusses Book Challenges, NCAC and Diversity in Publishing
With Banned Books Week on the horizon, PEN's report discusses NCAC's 'multipronged' approach to book challenges and the specific challenges censorship poses to diverse books.
ACLU Joins NCAC in Protesting Attempts to Rate and Censor Library Books in Virginia; UPDATE: Books Will Remain in Libraries
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has today written to a Chesterfield, VA, school board in defense of books on a summer reading list that recently came under fire for containing "sexually explicit" material.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Boycotts Local Bookstore Over Racially ‘Offensive’ Display
The bookstore owner was slammed for her "distinct lack of empathy for the experiences of people of color."
After Parents Censor, Student Drafts Petition In Defense of ‘Glass Castle’
Renae Roscart, 15, considers parents who argued for the reading list removal to be "pretending that sexual assault and alcoholism isn’t something that youths encounter."
Virginia School District Caves To Parent Pressure, Scraps Summer Reading List; UPDATE: Republican Senator Blasts Librarians For Selecting ‘Trash’, Petition Pushes Back
The Chesterfield County Public School summer reading list contained books that were "pornographic" and contained "vile, vile, nasty language," one mother complained.
School Librarians And Their Constitutional Responsibilities
What are the legal and educational responsibilities of school librarians in stocking their book shelves?
Vermont School Disinvites Childrens Author Because of Book About Heroin Addiction; UPDATE: School Reverses Decision, Will Carry Book in Library
Kate Messner speaking event at South Burlington's Chamberlin Elementary School after the school discovered her latest book was about heroin addiction.
Author Who Talks About Transgender Themes Disinvited from Schools in Texas
The children's author Phil Bildner apparently has been disinvited from several schools in Round Rock Independent School District in Round Rock, Texas. He published this statement yesterday on the blog of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom: Whenever I present to kids at my school visits, I always booktalk other authors’ books. It’s important for kids to know about the great stories that are out there. I always [...]
Victory for Looking for Alaska in Kentucky!
We received some great news from Kentucky this morning: a reconsideration committee in Marion County voted to keep John Green’s highly acclaimed first novel Looking for Alaska on its high school shelves last night. The book received a complaint from a parent who not only refused to let his child read the book, but determined it was "filth" and good [...]
Kentucky Parent Warns of ‘Filth’ in Looking for Alaska
One parent doesn't want any students -- or adults -- to read John Green's renowned young adult novel.
The Bluest Eye Stays in Michigan
A Michigan school board voted last night to keep The Bluest Eye in its AP curriculum.
Michigan Parents See ‘Porn’ in The Bluest Eye
Parents in Michigan are very upset about a Toni Morrison novel being taught in an AP English class.
Pa. Parents Complain, ‘Glass Castle’ Removed from School Reading List
A school in Pennsylvania removed an award-winning novel in response to parent's complaints.
Looking for Alaska Under Fire in Kentucky
Another year, another challenge to Looking for Alaska. This time, a parent in conservative Marion County, Kentucky, is challenging its use in a 12th grade classroom.
Virginia Veto: Good News for Freedom to Read
NCAC welcomes the news that Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe has vetoed HB516, which would have required parental notification whenever "sexually explicit material" was being taught in the state's public schools.
Victory! This One Summer Back on Library Shelves
An award-winning graphic novel was removed from high school libraries in Florida after the parent of a third-grader complained. The district thankfully reversed its decision.
Hanover Students Stand Against “Beloved Bill” in Virginia
Students are speaking out against legislation that would require parental notification of the teaching of "sexually explicit content" in public schools.
Coalition to Virginia Governor: Veto the ‘Beloved’ Bill
A bill that would require Virginia public schools to notify parents about 'sexually explicit content' should be vetoed by the governor, a coalition of literary and free speech groups argue.
Catherine Ross: “Freedom of Speech is the Engine Oil of Democracy”
Author Catherine Ross speaks to NCAC about schools and free speech: "In many communities across the country, the adults who would like to censor student expression are much louder and more influential that the adults who hope that schools will allow students to learn how to exercise their rights."
Virginia “Sexually Explicit Content” Bill Undermines Public Education
A Virginia bill that would require public schools to notify parents of "sexually explicit content" poses a profound threat to public education and First Amendment principles.
Changing District’s Book Challenge Policy: An Invitation to Censor?
In Florida, a seemingly minor change to a policy regarding how schools handle book challenges could have far-reaching implications.
School’s Banning of Racism Video Raises First Amendment Concerns
A Virginia school district's decision to ban a short video about affirmative action, along with the suggestion that it may ban other "racially divisive" material, raises serious First Amendment concerns.
Florida High School Libraries Restrict Access to Award-Winning Graphic Novel
A parent of an elementary school student complained about a graphic novel in the school library. Is that any reason to restrict the book in the same district's high school libraries?
A Birthday Cake for George Washington: The Problem with Banishing Books
Scholastic's decision to cease distribution of a controversial children's book raises some fundamental questions about free speech and self-censorship.
Florida Bills Threaten Science Instruction and Freedom to Read
Two new bills are designed to empower ideologically-driven activists to shape what is taught in Florida's classrooms.
Teaching Huck Finn: A Letter to Friends’ Central School
The reasons a private school in Pennsylvania offered for not teaching 'Huck Finn' are precisely the reasons it should be taught.
California School Faces Down Complaint Over ‘The Family Book’
A parent in Etiwanda, California is complaining that a celebrated children's book about tolerance and diversity is not "appropriate" for a kindergarten classroom.
Threat to Sue Over Transgender Book Reading is Based on Flawed Constitutional Analysis
A conservative legal group's threat to sue a school over the planned reading of a book about a transgender child is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how the First Amendment applies to public schools.
The Namesake Stays in Coeur d’Alene
Good news! The Couer d'Alene school board defended the freedom to read after a committee voted to reject Jhumpa Lahiri's novel for inclusion in a 12th grade English class.
Reading Jhumpa Lahiri in Idaho
An ad hoc committee in Idaho doesn't think high school seniors are ready to read The Namesake. The school board has an opportunity to reject this recommendation and protect the freedom to read.
Victory for ‘Just One Day’ in Minnesota
A reconsideration review committee that met on December 3 decided in a 7-4 vote to retain copies of Gayle Foreman’s award-winning young adult novel Just One Day in Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public School libraries.
‘Just One Day’ YA Novel: Too Racy For School Libraries?
Parents of a middle school student were upset to find their child read the novel 'One Fine Day.' So they want it removed from four school libraries in the district.
Are ‘Ghost Stories’ Too Spooky For NC School Library?
One parent's complaint about a graphic novel has apparently led a school in North Carolina to remove it from the school library.
Victory in NJ School: Books Under Fire Are Retained
Two books targeted for removal from instruction at Rumson-Fair Haven High School have been retained.
‘Extremely Loud’: Too Much For Honors English?
For the second time in two months, a school has decided to remove Jonathan Safran Foer's highly regarded novel 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' from a class reading list.
Another Book Battle in Idaho
An ad hoc committee in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, is again targeting a piece of literature for its language. Are they going too far?
A School Book Fair, Without Underpants
A book fair won't carry a new Captain Underpants book, because one of the characters is gay.
Book Banning in… New Jersey?
What's happening in the Garden State? Right after Banned Books Week, we saw two efforts to remove books from public schools.
Activists Beat Censorship in Lumberton, NJ
Congratulations to the students, parents, and teachers in Lumberton, New Jersey, who have proven that grassroots action makes a difference.
NJ District Yanks John Green Novel From Class Libraries
A New Jersey superintendent made an ad hoc decision to pull Looking for Alaska from classroom libraries, in violation of district policy.