California School District Removes Ghost Boys Over Political Viewpoints
A California school district removed the novel Ghost Boys, which tells the story of a Black boy shot by police, from its curriculum.
FUN HOME Removed from Nevada High School
Lauded graphic novel Fun Home was removed from high school classrooms by a principal in Nevada, violating district policy and threatening students' right to read.
NCAC Opposes Ban of Cartoon Protesting Violence Against Black People
NCAC, joined by ten organizations, is protesting a Texas school district’s decision to remove from a school website an editorial cartoon that was part of a class assignment because it criticizes the use of violence against Black people over the course of American history, including violence by police. The assignment was canceled after the National Fraternal Order of Police complained [...]
Court Decision Limits School Officials’ Ability to Punish Student Use of Social Media
One of the most common complaints of students who come to NCAC for assistance is that they have been threatened with discipline for something that they said on social media. In an important decision that greatly reduced the power of school officials to “reach into a child’s home and control his/her actions” and speech, a panel of the Third Circuit [...]
Alaska Community Unites in Opposition to Book Ban
When a school board in Alaska voted in April to remove five classic books from a high school reading list, it had no idea that it would outrage many in the community as well as several alumni of the school who are now rock stars. Although the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough School Board reversed its decision a month later, the controversy [...]
Georgia High School Punishes Students Over Social Media Photos
On August 3 and 4, two students at North Paulding High School in Dallas, GA, posted pictures to social media showing students in crowded hallways where social distancing was clearly impossible. Most students were not wearing masks. Unsurprisingly, the pictures immediately became a topic of discussion in the national media. In response, the school suspended the students on the grounds [...]
Libel Judgment Threatens Free Speech on College Campuses
NCAC has joined several free speech organizations in supporting Oberlin College’s appeal of a $44 million libel judgment that threatens the free speech rights of its faculty and students. They filed an amicus brief in an Ohio appeals court on June 5. The case grew out of the arrest of three African American students in 2016 for attempted theft [...]
Vermont Principal Removed for Statement on Black Lives Matter
WINDSOR, VT -- The Mt. Ascutney School District Board has removed Windsor School Principal Tiffany Riley from her position after she stated on her personal Facebook account that she disapproved of some of the tactics used by some Black Lives Matter activists. In response, NCAC has written to the school board urging them to rescind their decision to remove Ms. [...]
Five Classic Books Banned from Alaska School District | UPDATED
NCAC urges Mat-Su school board to reverse decision to remove five classic texts from high school curriculum.
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.
Arizona Legislature Considers Sex Ed Restrictions: UPDATED
Arizona considers banning sex ed before seventh grade.
Arizona Legislators Challenge It’s Perfectly Normal
Lawmakers challenging introduction of comprehensive sex ed are calling for ban on popular sexual health guide in schools and libraries.
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.
Truth Is Complicated
George Washington High School students, Lía Sánchez, Rowan Francis Taylor and Dava Munyon, share their thoughts on the Victor Arnautoff murals.
Back to School: 7 Resources for Parents, Teachers, and School Administrators
This list of our best resources on censorship and the First Amendment in schools will help you get ready for the school year.
San Francisco Mural Controversy: Perspectives and Updates
UPDATE October 4, 2019: The George Washington High School Alumni Association filed a lawsuit in the public interest against the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education, challenging the School Board’s commitment to remove from public view Victor Arnautoff’s 1936 New Deal mural with panels without conducting an environmental review, which is required by California law. UPDATE August 13, [...]
NCAC Calls for Open Forum to Discuss San Francisco Murals
NCAC proposes holding an open forum where GWHS students can talk about how they see and interpret the Arnautoff murals. We invite the San Francisco Board of Education to collaborate with us in presenting the forum.
NCAC and PEN America Oppose New Jersey Education Bill
The New Jersey legislature is considering an education bill that would redefine anti-Semitism so broadly as to infringe on protected speech.
Idaho High School Bans The Walking Dead from Campus
A school in Idaho has banned the popular graphic novel series The Walking Dead and removed all copies of the graphic novel series from their library, despite a review committee recommending the book remain on shelves.
Truth to Power: Film Contest Winners and Semi-Finalists
Over 100 teen filmmakers spoke Truth to Power for this year’s YFEP Film Contest. We invited teens to speak directly to those in power to lead change about issues that matter to them. The 12 finalist films tackled a wide range of polarizing, and often taboo, topics including gun violence, immigrant family separation, gender equality, toxic masculinity, shaming and [...]
Compromise Reached Over Disputed Los Angeles School Mural
After intervention from artists, advocates and community groups, a compromise has been reached that will allow the mural to remain with artist Beau Stanton overseeing changes to the work.
San Francisco High School May Destroy Historical Murals
NCAC urges the school to consider the serious, irreversible ramifications of destroying thirteen WPA murals at George Washington High School.
Considerations and Guidelines for School Officials
School officials have broad discretion to establish curricula and decide what materials to include in their classrooms and libraries. However, parents, special interest groups and others sometimes attempt to impose their personal beliefs on the public school system and demand the removal of educational materials. Listed below are some general considerations school administrators should take into account when such challenges [...]
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.
Coalition Alarmed by Violation of Student’s Rights in Florida
An 11-year old student was arrested after lawfully protesting the Pledge of Allegiance in a Florida school.
Maine Bill Aims to Weaken Protection Against School Censorship | UPDATE: VICTORY!
Maine lawmaker's attempts to label educational material obscene threatens intellectual freedom.
Attempt to Ban “Obscene” Material in Maine Schools
Maine lawmaker's attempts to label educational material obscene threatens intellectual freedom.
NCAC Opposes Removal of Mural at Los Angeles School
The superintendent of a Los Angeles school district has unilaterally decided to remove a mural on display on the exterior wall of RFK Community Schools’ theater after some members of the surrounding community complained that visual elements of the mural resembled the Rising Sun flag of Imperialist Japan.
Wisconsin High School Cancels Production of To Kill A Mockingbird
Shorewood High School canceled the production hours before it was scheduled to debut, to the dismay of both supporters and planned protesters.
San Diego Parents Stage ‘Opt-Out’ Protests Against Sex Ed
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.
Prosper High School Journalists Stand Up to Censorship | UPDATED
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.
NCAC and CBLDF Launch Comic Book to Help Protect Students’ Rights
As millions of American students assert their First Amendment rights in protests across the country, National Coalition Against Censorship partnered with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund to release a new comic book to help protect students' rights.
Cody School Board Removes Novel Against Recommendation of Review Committee
After a review committee voted to keep Tanya Lee Stone's novel in Cody Public School libraries, the school board elected to remove it.
First Amendment Rights for Student Protesters: A Resource
The First Amendment doesn't end "at the schoolhouse gates." But students should know their schools' policies when it comes to organizing protests. This is NCAC's quick guide for student protesters.
NCAC Supports Student Artists in Brooklyn
Sunset Park High School in Brooklyn, NY removed a work of student art last week after complaints that its message was offensive. NCAC opposes allowing a "hecker's veto" to chill this student's right to free expression.
Support Community Advocacy to Reverse Ban on The Hate U Give
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.
NCAC Calls for Swift Action to Defend Teacher’s First Amendment Rights
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.
Free Speech and Educational Advocacy Organizations Call on Baltimore City School Administrators to Restore BUCK in Classrooms
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.
NCAC Urges Texas School District to Reverse Ban on The Hate U Give
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 High School Urged to Keep Acclaimed Book in School Library
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.