Virginia Legal Action Threatens the Freedom to Read: Coalition Statement
A Virginia legal action against two books profoundly threatens the freedom to read and could limit the availability of books in the state.
NCAC Advises Walton County, Florida, School Board to Strengthen Book Challenge Procedures
A school district in Walton County, Florida, recently received challenges to more than fifty library books.
California School District Cancels Student Production of “Be More Chill” | UPDATED
Turlock, California, school district canceled remaining high school performances of "Be More Chill" after one show because of concerns that the content is not suitable for younger audience members.
NCAC Statement on Florida’s Education Legislation
NCAC is deeply concerned about a series of new Florida laws that threaten the ability of students to access information and are likely to cause a dramatic increase in censorship in Florida’s public schools.
NCAC Objects to Removal of Library Books in Texas School District
NCAC has written to officials at Fredericksburg Independent School District in Texas after numerous books were removed from district libraries without a formal review based on arguments that they are “pervasively vulgar.” The books in question, which include, among others, Jesse Andrews’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, address issues that [...]
NCAC Criticizes Texas State Representative Patterson’s Attempt to Bully His State’s Educators to Censor School Books
A Texas State Representative and 21 other members of the Texas House wrote an intimidating and misleading letter to every school district in the state in an attempt to censor books.
School District in Prosper, Texas, Removes 30 Books In Violation of Procedure
Thirty books have been removed from Prosper Independent School District libraries in Prosper, Texas, without following the district’s book challenge procedures.
Texas Students Distribute BIPOC and LGBTQ+ Books During ‘FReadom Week’ Initiative | Student Perspective
When Jerry Craft's New Kid was banned from school libraries in Katy, Texas earlier this year for "pervasively vulgar" content, I defended his book and advocated against this inexplicable censorship. After that, school board meetings in Texas only intensified. After months of persistent demands for intellectual freedom being outnumbered by conservatives and drowned out by more book bans, we finally [...]
Maryland’s Wicomico County Public Schools Remove All Boys Aren’t Blue from District Libraries With No Review
George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue was removed from from libraries in Wicomico County Public Schools in Maryland, without review.
NCAC Criticizes Pennsylvania School for Stifling Student’s Political Speech By Prohibiting “Let’s Go Brandon” T-Shirt
Port Allegany School District in Pennsylvania may have violated a student's First Amendment rights by requiring them to remove clothing with the message "Let's Go Brandon".
NCAC and National Teacher Organizations’ Statement on The Freedom to Teach
School districts are the most active battlefield in the American culture wars today. Teachers need our support; they need our trust; they need to have the freedom to exercise their professional judgment.
Yorktown Heights, New York, School District Removes Challenged Library Books Before Completing Review
Schools in Yorktown Heights, New York, removed several books from library shelves after a challenge was filed but not yet reviewed.
Washington State School District Bans Student Protest
North Thurston Public Schools in Lacey, Washington, recently barred students from protesting on its campuses.
Wentzville, Missouri, School District Bans Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Calls Book “Obscene” | Updated
Wentzville, Missouri, schools remove Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye after incorrectly labeling it obscene.
School Board Overrules Review Committee to Remove Beyond Magenta from School Libraries in Siloam Springs, Arkansas
Arkansas school district removes "Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out" from school libraries against the recommendation of its own review committee.
NCAC Urges New York State School District to Allow Students with Differing Views to Display Art on Controversial Issues
NCAC is urging Eastport-South Manor Central School District in Manorville, New York, to allow students of differing views to display art on school grounds.
Toni Morrison Novel Among At Least 8 Books Removed From Forsyth County, Georgia, School Libraries | Updated
Forsyth County Schools in Cumming, Georgia, removed numerous books from school libraries in violation of district regulations.
Granbury, Texas, School District Removes 130 Books While Rewriting Book Review Process | Updated
Schools in Granbury, Texas, removed 130 books from library shelves before reviewing a single one.
Body Language: 2021 Film Contest Winners
For this year’s YFEP Film Contest, we invited teens to create a film on the importance of expressing one’s gender and identity through personal appearance. The 3 winners tackled a wide range of polarizing, and often taboo, topics including gun violence, immigrant family separation, gender equality, toxic masculinity, shaming and bullying, and climate change. The Chairs of the New [...]
NCAC Objects to Removal of Student’s LGBTQ Artwork in Georgia School | Updated
School officials in Athens, Georgia, removed student artwork celebrating gay rights and compared displaying a rainbow flag to displaying a swastika in the classroom.
It’s Perfectly Normal and In the Night Kitchen Removed from Llano County Library in Texas | Updated
The National Coalition Against Censorship is concerned about the recent removal of two books from Texas's Llano County library: It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris; and In The Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak.
Concerns Over Extensive Book Review at North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas
One of Texas's largest school districts removed hundreds of books for review, in violation of district policy, in response to a legislator's investigation of books in schools.
NCAC Offers Support to Illinois School District in Updating Book Challenge Policies | Updated
Illinois school district pressured to remove books from school libraries by violent alt-right gang Proud Boys.
Keller, Texas, School District Censors Library Books in Violation of Policy
Keller Independent School District in Keller, TX, recently appeared to violate its own policies when it removed several books from school library shelves.
NCAC Protests District’s Removal of Gender Queer from School Libraries in Pinellas County, Florida
The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the Board of Education of Pinellas County Schools in Largo, FL, to protest the recent removal of Gender Queer from school libraries shelves. This is the latest in a series of book removals across the country that ignore policy and best practice in removing books before a formal review takes place.
NCAC Objects to Removal of Lawn Boy and Gender Queer from Fairfax, Virginia, School Libraries | UPDATED
Fairfax County, Virginia, school district removed two books, Lawn Boy and Gender Queer, from school libraries after a parent complaint.
New Jersey School Censors Student’s Black Lives Matter Poster in African American Culture Display | Updated
A student’s Black Lives Matter poster was censored at Hillsborough Middle School in New Jersey because of apparent disagreement with the political views it expressed.
NCAC Criticizes Brooklyn School’s Censorship of Student Mural | UPDATED
The principal at the elementary school in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood removed a mural created by several fifth graders because of apparent discomfort with some of its content.
NCAC and Dramatists Guild Object to Cancellation of School Play with Gay Character in Hillsboro, Ohio
Hillsboro High School in Ohio cancelled a production of Qui Nguyen’s play, She Kills Monsters, due to “inappropriate language, profanity, homophobic slurs, sexual innuendos and graphic violence," but likely also because it features a gay character.
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 Urges Texas School District to Keep Jerry Craft Books in Libraries
Katy Independent School District in Texas removed two books by Jerry Craft from school libraries because of a parent complaint about "promoting Critical Race Theory", possibly violating the First Amendment
Parents Call for Censorship of It’s Perfectly Normal at Cass County, Missouri, Public Library
NCAC urges Missouri's Cass County Public Library to resist calls to censor It's Perfectly Normal, a book about puberty.
NCAC Urges Central York, Pennsylvania, School District to Improve Policy After Diverse Book Ban Controversy
Students in York, Pennsylvania, successfully challenged a district-wide ban on diverse resource materials.
NCAC Responds to Troubling Censorship of College-Level Writing Class in Ohio High School
NCAC has written to the mayor and joined with FIRE and PEN America in a letter to the superintendent of Hudson City Schools after controversy erupted in Hudson, Ohio, over the appearance (but not use) of writing prompts that allude to sexual experience in an optional, college-level writing course, the school seized the books from students and the mayor threatened to prosecute the school board.
NCAC Applauds North Carolina Governor’s Veto of Bill Aimed at Censoring Teaching on Racism
The National Coalition Against Censorship applauds North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s recent veto of House Bill 324, which would have regulated the teaching of certain concepts commonly (and often mistakenly) associated with Critical Race Theory.
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.
The First Amendment in Schools
How does the First Amendment protect the rights of students and teachers? This guide provides background on the legal and practical questions surrounding school censorship controversies.
Supreme Court Rules on Off-Campus Student Speech Rights in Mahanoy vs. B.L. Case
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a student's First Amendment rights for off-campus speech, but the Mahanoy decision left questions unanswered.
Non-Partisan Coalition Statement Opposing “Divisive Concepts” Legislation
Non-partisan coalition statement in a response to attempts to limit teaching related to critical race theory, under a broad umbrella of "divisive concepts," including free speech and First Amendment framework for opposition advocacy.
Oklahoma School District Bans Black Lives Matter Shirts
NCAC criticizes Ardmore schools in Oklahoma for banning Black Lives Matter shirts.