Are New Rules Still Targeting Gay-Straight Alliance?
It looks like a Tennessee high school will have a gay-straight alliance club after all. But do the district's new rules for all clubs go too far?
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.
Florida Man Wants City to Declare Vagina Monologues ‘Inappropriate’
A local businessman wants a Florida city council to bar performances in a publicly-owned theater that he deems inappropriate.
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.
Students Form Gay-Straight School Club. What’s the Problem?
At Franklin County High School in Tennessee, some students and parents are outraged by the very existence of the Gay-Straight Alliance.
In Omaha Sex Ed Fight, Board Must Choose Sound Science
A series of proposed changes to the sex ed curriculum in Omaha, Nebraska generated intense opposition late last year, with hundreds of angry parents packing a meeting to denounce plans to teach students about gender identity, emergency contraception, and abortion. Now it is up to the board to decide how and what students will learn.
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.
Ivory Tower Sex Panic?
Is there a new sex panic taking place in academia? Sexual expression is once again under attack as harmful to women, and possibly as a form of sexual harassment.
‘Purity’ Panic Over Omaha Sex Ed Curriculum
Parents in Omaha are fired up about proposed changes to the sexual education curriculum. Are they trying to keep their kids "pure," or are they calling for censorship?
Petition Demands Only “Age Appropriate” Books in NJ High School
A petition calls for the removal of two books for sexual content and language, and also all other material that is not age-appropriate.
“Shame is the Evil That Makes Everybody Sick”
Legendary artists Betty Tompkins and Marilyn Minter got together to talk about censorship, women in the arts and much more.
Charter School’s Book Censorship is a ‘Kind of Literary Fraud’
Responding to a complaint about a book assignment, a Tennessee charter school CEO explained that they had given students a heavily redacted version.
Northwestern Prof Resigns Over Censorship Scandal
A prominent Northwestern University professor resigns in the wake of a censorship scandal involving a faculty magazine.
National Groups Oppose South Carolina ‘Some Girls’ Censorship
One parent called an award-winning young adult novel "smut"-- and her complaint was enough to have it removed from a summer reading list for honors students.
“My Princess Boy”: Watch One Texas Mom Speak Out for LGBT Books
At a public hearing over whether or not to remove LGBT children's books from a public library, one mom's comments stole the show.
LGBT Library Censorship Effort Fails in Texas
Would-be censors in Texas lose in their effort to remove LGBT children's books from the public library. But the fight in Hood County may be far from over.
A Book Censor for North Carolina’s Board of Education?
Has the governor of North Carolina nominated a book censor to the state Board of Education?
Terminated for Reading an Allen Ginsberg Poem?
A celebrated English teacher shared an Allen Ginsberg poem in an AP class. He's not a teacher anymore.
Censored Penguins Get Chilly Reception at California Charter School
A play about penguins was a hit at an anti-censorship conference. Days later, it was canceled at a nearby school.
Connecticut District Removes Perks of Being A Wallflower From Curriculum
A review committee in Wallingford, Ct. decided to keep a popular young adult novel in the English curriculum. But the superintendent overruled that decision. Does his decision make legal or educational sense?
An Acclaimed Graphic Novel…Or Child Porn? Palomar Under Scrutiny In New Mexico
A parent complains that an acclaimed graphic novel on the shelves at a New Mexico high school library is really child pornography. How will the school respond?
Top 5 Forbidden Affairs of the Heart
In honor of Valentine's Day, NCAC has compiled a list of 5 scandalous couples that rattled more than just the bedpost. In fact, their romances sparked debate about the role of free expression, censorship, and First Amendment rights—some even thousands of years later. NCAC hopes that your Valentine's Day is as passionate and romantic—though maybe not as dramatic—as these forbidden affairs of [...]
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.
Student Production of “Almost, Maine” Cancelled because of Same-Sex Storyline
(UPDATE: The students organized and managed to stage their performance at a local playhouse, thanks to a Kickstarter campaign.) A mere week after the legalization of gay marriage in North Carolina, a school in Maiden has decided to cancel a scheduled January production of Almost, Maine over, yes, the presence of a same-sex couple in the play's storyline. In a case [...]
PA High School Cancels “Spamalot” Over Homosexual Themes
UPDATE: We've just heard that, in apparent retaliation for speaking about the cancellation of the play, drama teacher Dawn Burch, has been just fired. Stay tuned for action alert and letter to the school board. In a letter sent to the South Williamsport Area School District today, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), the American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression, the [...]
Pennsylvania High School Cancels Spamalot because of “Homosexual Themes”
A production of Spamalot planned for 2015 has recently been cancelled by the South Williamsport High School in Pennsylvania. Why? Made public in August as the result of Right-to-Know requests, internal emails sent by the school principal, Jesse Smith, clearly demonstrate that the homosexual themes of the play prompted the cancellation. The principal suggested in the communications that the show [...]
Cut, Censored, Banned: NCAC’s Top 40 Film Picks
The leaves are starting to change, everyone’s back to the school and work routine, and the weather’s turning chilly—the perfect time for a movie marathon of NCAC’s top 40 censored flicks. Begin reading with our #40 pick, an NC-17 film from 2013 that received a chilly welcome in Idaho.
NCAC Staff’s Top 40 Censored Books
Whether you need a trip down memory lane or you’re ready to discover a new favorite, consider these rebellious reads that have been and continue to be challenged by parents, bureaucrats, and audiences alike.
Then and Now: Out Loud and Proud
No one knows exactly why Andy Warhol's only public work, "13 Most Wanted Men," was censored fifty years ago this month at the 1964 World's Fair in Queens, New York. Initial press reports said it was Warhol himself who didn't like the work. But that was not the case. Yet, no other rationale was offered. The reason remained unspoken - or perhaps, it was simply [...]
Baptist College seizes student newspaper, mutes LGBT community
Cedarville University officials in Ohio confiscated and halted distribution of the independent student newspaper The Ventriloquist after it featured two essays critical of the school’s attitude toward gay students. “The Final Decision” tells the story of Avery Redic, who was removed from student government and other school leadership positions after coming out, and “Fear at Cedarville” seeks to open a [...]
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.
Embattled Colorado Professor Returns to Teach “Deviance” Course
UPDATE: Sociology professor Patti Adler has returned to teaching after CU-Boulder informed her she would be reinstated as instructor of the course "Deviance in U.S. Society." NCAC and other national organizations issued a statement warning CU-Boulder of their obligations to academic freedom.
Joint Statement about the University of Colorado’s Actions Relating to Professor Patricia Adler
Statement about the University of Colorado’s Actions Relating to Professor Patricia Adler From The National Coalition Against Censorship, American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and Student Press Law Center January 2, 2014 As groups concerned about academic freedom and free speech, we join the American Association of University Professors in expressing alarm over the [...]
Update on CU Boulder incident: faculty review could clear Adler to teach “Deviance” course
Updates are coming in on the threat to academic freedom at the University of Colorado Boulder. According to the Daily Camera (via the Chronicle of Higher Ed's Ticker blog), CU professor Patricia Adler might still have a chance to teach her "Deviance in U.S. Society" course as early as the Spring 2014 semester–if the class clears a review of Sociology faculty, [...]
Sociology Professor Sanctioned for Class on Prostitution at University of Colorado Boulder
Why is it that every time sex enters the conversation in academia, harassment always appears to shadow it? How perverse - and unfair to real victims of harassment - that this serious charge is used against a professor for nothing else than creatively doing her job. In a lecture on prostitution, a highlight of her regular course on deviance, University [...]
School Counselor Who Defended ‘Family Book’ Honored by GLSEN
In honor of National Teachers Appreciation Day, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has honored Matt Beck, a school counselor in Erie, Illinois, with its 2013 Educator of the Year Award. Matt showed impressive courage and resolve in the face of censorship of LGBTQ materials, including Todd Parr's The Family Book, in his school in Erie in the [...]
Protests After Alaska School Censors Student Art Show
"Art is a way to speak our minds!!!" one hand-drawn sign reads. "IB Art Matters!" reads another. These signs hang on the art display boards where art, done by Palmer High School's IB Art students, once hung. In response to recent censorship by the High School, students have made their voice heard in defense of their work and in support [...]
Free Speech and LGBTQ Rights Groups Oppose Cancellation of Exhibit at Stonewall National Museum and Archives
Artists and action groups join NCAC in letter to museum. Leave your comment of support!