Hudson, Ohio, School District Preemptively Removes Lawn Boy From School Libraries
Hudson, Ohio, school officials improperly removed Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison from school library shelves before a review of the book was complete.
NCAC Objects to Removal of Lawn Boy and Gender Queer from Fairfax, Virginia, School Libraries
Fairfax County, Virginia, school district removed two books, Lawn Boy and Gender Queer, from school libraries after a parent complaint.
NCAC Criticizes Censorship of LGBTQ History Exhibit at Missouri State Capitol
The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to Missouri Governor Michael L. Parson after state officials removed an exhibit about LGBTQ history from the Missouri Capitol.
NCAC Objects to PBS Censorship of LGBTQ+ Children’s Program
NCAC asks PBS for a policy change after it removed from its national website an LGBTQ+ children's program featuring a drag queen.
Anti-LGBTQ Book Legislation Proceeds in Multiple States
Across the country, state lawmakers are considering legislation that aims to ban teaching books with LGBTQ themes and punish teachers for exposing students to material that addresses sexuality and gender expression.
Texas School District Bans Call Me Max, Picture Book About Trans Child
An Austin, Texas, school district banned teachers from reading Call Me Max, a picture book about a trans child, to students after parents complained.
Texas School District Removes LGBTQ Books From Reading Lists
Leander, Texas, school district has removed LGBTQ books from optional reading lists in middle and high school classes.
Louisiana Library Removes LGBTQ Children’s Books From Shelves
A Louisiana library removed LGBTQ books from the children's section after receiving several complaints.
Banned Books Week 2020 Launches: Censorship is a Dead End
Banned Books Week 2020 declares Censorship is a Dead End: Find Your Freedom to Read. The annual celebration of banned books will be held from September 23-October 3, 2020.
National Groups Condemn Attacks on LGBTQ Stories
Books featuring LGBTQ characters and themes are under attack in schools and libraries across the United States, violating free speech principles.
Unconstitutional Efforts to Ban Drag Queen Story Hour
Attempts to ban Drag Queen Story Hour events and other LGBTQ-related content from public libraries are proliferating across the country.
Michigan Teacher Denies Student Request to Write About Same Sex Marriage
Michigan teacher who denied student request to write about same-sex marriage owes student an apology and district should reaffirm students' free expression rights.
NCAC Opposes Copycat Missouri Bill Threatening Tennessee Libraries
NCAC supports the American Library Association to oppose library censorship legislation proposed by Tennessee lawmakers nearly identical to a bill proposed last month in Missouri.
UPDATE: LGBTQ Books Under Threat in Loudoun County, Virginia, School Libraries
NCAC is calling on Loudoun County Public Schools to avoid viewpoint discrimination and uphold kids' right to access LGBTQ books.
LGBTQ Children’s Book Removed from Library Shelves in West Virginia
NCAC urges Upshur County library officials to uphold their own policies and the First Amendment by returning Prince & Knight to the children's section of their library.
Author Aida Salazar on Censoring Gender Fluidity in Schools
Author Aida Salazar shares her own experience with school visits for her new book, The Moon Within, and the struggles she faces with teachers.
Texas Library Cancels Event with Trans Author
City officials in Leander, Texas abruptly cancelled an appearance by renowned graphic novelist Lilah Sturges at the Leander Public Library just hours before her scheduled visit.
Statement on Ohio House Speaker’s Attempts to Suppress Pride Events
House Speaker Larry Householder’s letter pressuring the Ohio Library Council to cancel youth events in celebration of Pride month is an assault on free speech principles and an abuse of political power.
PRIDE: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag Challenged in Virginia School
Controversy arose in Hanover County, Virginia, after a parent complained about PRIDE: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag being read aloud in a second-grade classroom.
LGBTQ Stories Top Banned Books List
ALA's Most Challenged Books list for 2018 is dominated by LGBTQ stories and characters, reflecting a growing trend.
Defend LGBTQ Stories: A Resource
Despite hard-won progress towards LGBTQ equality, books centering LGBTQ characters and stories remain among the most frequently challenged and banned in schools and libraries. The freedom to read stories about people of diverse sexual and gender identities can validate and empower all youth, especially those who may identify as LGBTQ. When LGBTQ youth do not see themselves represented in [...]
NCAC Opposes Attempts to Ban Drag Queen Story Hour in Houston
NCAC supports the Houston Public Library’s commitment to open and diverse programming.
Local Pastors Attempt to Ban Books from Banned Books Display at Maine Public Library
A group of pastors in Rumford, Maine are attempting to have LGBTQ books banned from the Rumford Public Library's display of banned books.
NCAC Supports Louisiana Library Hosting Drag Queen Story Time | UPDATE: Success!
Controversy arose over the announcement that the library would host the family-focused program, which features reading, singing and crafts presided over by drag queens.
Fun Home Under Fire in New Jersey
Fun Home is under attack again, this time in a New Jersey High School.
Texas Library Evaluates Policy After Criticism of LGBT-Themed Display
A library in Temple, Texas was criticized for highlighting LGBT-themed books during June 2017's celebration of Pride Month and equal space was demanded for anti-LGBT material.
Censorship Made Me More Defiant – An Interview with David Levithan
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.
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.
Religious Group Threatens to Sue School Over Transgender Book Discussion
A conservative law firm threatened to sue a Wisconsin school over a reading and discussion of the picture book I Am Jazz. The district canceled the November 23 reading.
15 in ’15: Celebrating This Year’s Free Speech Heroes
From defending challenged library books to promoting campus free speech to identifying nudity double standards on social media, here are a few of the folks we consider Free Speech Heroes in 2015.
Texas Library Battle Over LGBT Books
Residents of one Texas town want two LGBT books removed from the children's section of a public library. That is unconstitutional. But a plan to move the books to the adult section is similarly problematic.
Evolution Wins: Cherokee Trail High Allows Production to Go Forward Uncensored
NCAC congratulates the students of Cherokee Trail High for speaking up and speaking out against censorship, and is gratified that the administration chose to do the right thing by respecting its students' free expression rights.
Defying Intolerance, Children’s Book About Dress-Wearing Boy Kept in Classroom
Last December, a guidance counselor in rural Pennsylvania read a children’s book about a dress-wearing boy to a kindergarten class without advance notice to the parents, upsetting some residents in the district.
“Two Boys Kissing” could be purged from Fauquier High School library
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 [...]
Letter Urges S.C. Legislature to Restore Funding to Universities With LGBT Curricula
In a joint letter with the ACLU-SC and eight other partner organizations, NCAC defended academic freedom and criticized attempts by the South Carolina State Legislature to punitively defund state universities for assigning LGBT-themed books.
Truly Free Speech Protects Kids From Bullying
Photo by rosipaw on Flicrk This week, Stephanie Mencimer at MotherJones.com reported on horrifying cases of harassment and suicides in the Anoka-Hennepin schools of Minnesota, in Rep. Michelle Bachman’s district. The article, published within days of a suit filed against the district by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has further mobilized advocates calling for expanded anti-bullying policies and [...]
It’s not about the children: “Revolutionary Voices” pulled from public library
We were gratified to learn of a kind mention last week from librarian Lizzy Burns in her thoughtful blog A CHAIR, A FIREPLACE & A TEA COZY concerning one example of the kind of work the NCAC does every day. You can find the original post here. The latest wrinkle in the story: Revolutionary Voices has been pulled from not [...]