Book Bans Continue to Surge in Public Schools
A recent report released by PEN America, a free speech organization, has revealed that book bans in public schools are on the rise. The first half of the current academic year saw more books being removed than in the entire previous year. This surge in book bans can be attributed to conservative groups, as well as new laws and regulations that restrict the accessibility of certain books for children.
The Acceleration of Book Removals
While book bans are not a new phenomenon in the United States, the current wave of censorship efforts is unprecedented in its scope. Conservative groups such as Moms for Liberty and Utah Parents United have played a significant role in organizing and politicizing these efforts. They have been pushing for legislation that regulates the content of library collections, resulting in a staggering number of book removals.
According to PEN America, over 10,000 instances of book removals have been documented since they began tracking this issue. Many of the books targeted feature LGBTQ+ characters or address topics related to race and racism.
Florida Leads in Book Bans
Florida stands out as the state with the highest number of book bans. During the last semester, 3,135 books were removed across 11 school districts in Florida. Escambia County Public Schools accounted for the majority of these bans, with over 1,600 books being removed to comply with a statewide education law that prohibits books depicting or referring to sexual conduct. Interestingly, some schools even removed dictionaries and encyclopedias during this sweeping removal of books.
Florida’s spike in book bans can be attributed to several state laws enacted by Governor Ron DeSantis and a Republican-controlled legislature. These laws aim to regulate reading materials and have made Florida a testing ground for book banning tactics across the country.
Targeting Books Depicting Sexual Assault
With the rise of legislation and policies that aim to restrict books with sexual content from school libraries, books addressing sexual assault have increasingly become targets for removal. PEN America found that nearly 20% of the banned books during the 2021-2023 school years were works that address rape and sexual assault.
Instances of book removals include the removal of books such as Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Rupi Kaur’s poetry collection “Milk and Honey,” Jaycee Dugard’s memoir “A Stolen Life,” and Amy Reed’s young adult novel “The Nowhere Girls.” These removals have sparked controversy and debate.
A Growing Movement Against Book Bans
Opponents of book bans, including parents, students, free speech and library organizations, booksellers, and authors, have united to counter these removals. Their argument is that book bans violate the First Amendment, which protects the right to access information.
Efforts to stop book removals have taken various forms, including student walkouts, protests, banned books clubs, marches, and the creation of free community bookshelves. Some states, like California and Illinois, have even passed “anti-book ban” laws. Lawsuits have also been filed in states like Texas and Florida to challenge the legislation that has made it easier to ban books.
While judges have been finding many of these laws unconstitutional, it may take years for them to be fully challenged and overturned. In the meantime, new legislation continues to emerge, indicating that the issue of book bans is far from being resolved.
