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: 9 Resources for Students
This school year we want you to be prepared to defend your right to speak, think and create.
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, [...]
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.
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.
NCAC Condemns Removal of Student Artwork Critical of Police
A student artwork critical of police was removed from a school exhibition in Madeira, Ohio, flagrantly disregarding the student's rights.
Proposed Florida Bills Threaten Students’ Rights
Proposed Florida legislation threatens to weaken academic freedom, chill the work of educators, interfere with students' rights to access information, and cost school districts time and money.
Filmmaker’s Guide to Copyright and Fair Use
An overview of what you can, and can't, use in a student film.
Resources for First-Time Filmmakers
We’ve collected all the information you’ll need to make a great 4-minute film on a shoe-string budget!
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 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.
NCAC Opposes Attempts to Ban Drag Queen Story Hour in Houston
NCAC supports the Houston Public Library’s commitment to open and diverse programming.
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.
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.
Why (Your) Protest Matters: Film Contest Winners and Semi-Finalists
This year's Youth Free Expression Program Film Contest asked filmmakers under 19 to create films that think broadly about protest, demonstration and change. After receiving hundreds of entries, we are delighted to share our 8 semi-finalist films.
Read with Pride: 10 Great LGBTQ YA Books for Summer
Kick off summer with NCAC's recommendations for books that amplify LGBTQ stories and voices, and that are frequently banned in schools!
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.
Concern Over Removal of Poetry Display at Aurora Public Library
The Aurora Public Library has removed a poem entitled "Hijab mean Jihad" from a display after community members complained.
MK Asante, Leora Kahn & NYFA Chairs Named Film Contest Judges
The National Coalition Against Censorship continues its support of student-led protests by extending the deadline for its protest-themed film contest to May 15th. This year’s contest invites aspiring teen filmmakers to create short films on the value of protest as an instrument of social change. In the weeks leading up to the March for Our Lives and National School Walkouts [...]
Howard Univ. Students Reach Settlement After Historic 9-Day Protest
Student protesters reached a settlement with the Howard University Board of Trustees... The sit-ins broke the record for the longest Howard University student protest and harked back to historic campus takeovers by black student activists in the 1960s.
Meet Maggie Budzyna: A Young Filmmaker Determined to Resist Injustice
Maggie Budzyna's debut film, CENSORED, tackles the slippery slope of banning words from public dialogue. We spoke with the 17-year-old filmmaker about censorship, youth activism and the importance of using her artistic freedom to resist injustice. Watch her film and read the interview.
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.
Delaware School District Removes Comments Supporting Gun Control Protest from Facebook
Administrators at a Delaware school district have removed Facebook comments dissenting from the District's position on student protests planned in the wake of the Parkland shooting.
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.
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.
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.
Conejo Valley Unified School District Back in Censorship News UPDATE: Board Adopts Controversial Opt-Out Policy
A CA school board is set to vote on a widely criticized policy that would stoke parental fears and anxieties, invite self-censorship and wreak havoc with the curriculum.
NCAC Stands Up For Student Right to Protest in Oklahoma
NCAC has urged an Oklahoma board of education to rescind its policy of disciplining students who do not stand during the national anthem as students have the right to peaceful and non-disruptive political speech, which includes the right to protest.
NCAC Protests Ban on “Inappropriate” Books by Florida School Official
The groups argue that the directive, which appears to contradict existing district policies, would lead to the exclusion of an extremely large number of books, including literary classics, from Shakespeare to Anne Frank’s A Diary of a Young Girl.
NCAC Statement Supports Right of Students to Protest During National Anthem
By banning or discouraging students from participating in protests against racial discrimination, police brutality and other important issues, schools not only violate their First Amendment rights but deny them the opportunity to join a national debate that can contribute to their civic education.
Banned Books Week: YA Author Alan Gratz on Giving Kids the Tools to Resist Censorship
Alan Gratz Alan Gratz has written over a dozen award-winning books for young readers. His latest YA novel, Ban This Book, tells the story of Amy Anne Ollinger, an avid reader who organizes a campaign of resistance when her favorite book and several other titles are removed from the school library. It’s funny, uplifting, enlightening and above all, [...]
Using Racist Language in Classroom Reading as a Teachable Moment
In teaching the history of race in America, educators who contextualize racist language in the appropriate historical and social context can deliver a valuable lesson to students in understanding social injustice.
California Parents Protest Reading of Children’s Book With Transgender Theme
The book, which tells Jazz’s story of struggle with having “a girl brain but a boy body,” was brought to school in June by a transitioning kindergartner at Rocklin Academy Gateway School.
What You Need to Know About the Arizona Mexican-American Studies Trial; UPDATE: Judge Rules Ban Unconstitutional
The trial will decide whether the cancellation of the Mexican-American studies curriculum in 2010 in Tucson Arizona was done with discriminatory intent.
NCAC Warns CA School District Against Dropping Proposed Curriculum; Victory! Board Finally Votes to Implement Curriculum
By choosing to remove the book, a precedent is set for the success of future book challenges that place objectionable content over pedagogical merit.
NCAC Urges Wisconsin Superintendent to Retain Award-Winning Novel in Curriculum; UPDATE: Victory! Board Finally Votes to Retain Book
The groups emphasize that the mere presence of explicit language and violence in a book provides no justification for its removal.
Why NCAC Objects to ‘Restore Campus Free Speech’ Bills
Yesterday, NCAC sent a letter to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper urging him to veto a bill dubbed as a measure to “restore” and “preserve” free speech on state college campuses. But why would an organization devoted to free expression like NCAC object to an effort to safeguard free speech at universities?