National News
Page 16 of 87
Literacy advocates in Ohio defend difficult texts as they mark Toni Morrison Day
Tuesday, February 18th, 2025
via The Associated Press (Ohio)Ohio lawmakers and literacy advocates used the birthday of one of America's most frequently banned authors to defend difficult texts.
Book Bans
Lawmakers go toe-to-toe on school library policies, complaints
Tuesday, February 18th, 2025
via Concord Monitor (New Hampshire)Heather Robitaille hadn't realized her daughter felt different from her peers when she first got glasses at age 4 – until they read a book together that featured a bear that wore glasses.
Book Bans
Roundhouse Rundown: Red flag law, education proposals, electric school buses
Monday, February 17th, 2025
via KOB (New Mexico)We are just about halfway through this 60-day legislative session, and New Mexico's state lawmakers already have a lot to show for it.
School Board – General, Book Bans
Bill advances to remove Iowa obscenity law exemptions for libraries, schools
Monday, February 17th, 2025
via The Gazette (Iowa)Republican lawmakers' efforts to protect children from books and material they view as obscene would extend beyond schools to all public libraries under a proposal advanced Monday. Opponents say Iowa law already includes a test that determines whether books and other materials are obscene.
Book Bans
‘Chilling effect’: GOP bill would kill Iowa obscenity law exemption for libraries, schools
Monday, February 17th, 2025
via The Des Moines Register (Iowa)Iowa Republican lawmakers are seeking to remove an exemption in Iowa's obscenity law that protects libraries and educational institutions.
Book Bans
Des Moines Public Schools hasn’t banned a single book since Iowa’s new law. It’s not alone
Sunday, February 16th, 2025
via The Des Moines Register (Iowa)Des Moines Public Schools is among 174 public school districts that did not remove books from its schools after Senate File 496 went into effect.
Book Bans
‘We’re humans’: Tennessee teens talk book bans, finding common ground in divided times
Sunday, February 16th, 2025
via Tennessean (Tennessee)Young Democrats and Young Republicans club members at Mt. Juliet High sat down to discuss politics, book bans and finding common ground.
Book Bans
‘Class Disrupted’: Students weigh in on the contentions book ban debate in new series
Sunday, February 16th, 2025
via Tennessean (Tennessee)In 2025, The Tennessean will take a close look at key issues facing the U.S. education system — and how students feel about them. First up? Book bans.
Book Bans
‘Not enough kids in these meetings’: Students weigh in as 1,100 books banned in Tennessee
Sunday, February 16th, 2025
via Tennessean (Tennessee)The Tennessean interviewed more than a dozen high schoolers about the book bans sweeping the state. Here's why the removals matter to them.
School Board – General, Book Bans
Race, sex and the Holocaust: As book bans grow across the state, some genres see more bans
Sunday, February 16th, 2025
via Tennessean (Tennessee)Book bans have reached a record high in Tennessee, with certain genres and themes facing far higher removals than others.
Book Bans
‘Class Disrupted’: How do students feel about book bans?
Saturday, February 15th, 2025
via Tennessean (Tennessee)Plus: Test your knowledge with Presidents' Day trivia and get an update on Tennessee's franchise tax refunds.
Book Bans
Virginia legislators request study of book removals in public schools
Friday, February 14th, 2025
via Daily Press (Virginia)A Senate committee recently advanced a proposal for the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to report on book removals in Virginia public schools between July 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2024.
Book Bans
Hearing from students on book bans
Friday, February 14th, 2025
via Tennessean (Tennessee)Plus, a list of books banned in Tennessee last year
Book Bans
Texas leads nation in book ban attempts, according to the American Library Association
Friday, February 14th, 2025
via KPRC (Texas)Texas leads the nation in attempts to ban books, sparking a heated debate over educational freedom and censorship.
Book Bans
Happy Valentine’s Day! These are the most banned romance novels in Florida, US schools
Friday, February 14th, 2025
via The Palm Beach Post (Florida)These Florida school districts removed bestselling and award-winning romance novels from their shelves in the last two school years. Here's the list.
Book Bans
Sarah Jessica Parker to be honored this spring by PEN America
Friday, February 14th, 2025
via The Associated Press (New York)Sarah Jessica Parker will be this year's recipient of PEN America's 'Literary Service' award. The 'Sex and the City' star, a longtime advocate for reading and literacy, will be honored May 15 at the free expression organization's annual spring gala.
Book Bans
School cellphone ban passes Oklahoma House as lawmakers debate library book bans, policies
Thursday, February 13th, 2025
via The Oklahoman (Oklahoma)House Bill 1276 offers an opt out for school districts to address local control concerns, said the bill's author.
Book Bans
The school board was the testing ground for the fall of our democracy
Thursday, February 13th, 2025
via Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia)A few years ago, a colleague asked me what I believed to be the 'endgame' for all the chaos we had witnessed in America's school boards.
Racism, School Board – General, Book Bans, Parent Involvement
‘I’m sick of it’: Iowa lawmakers eye K-12 ban on teaching about gender and sexual identity
Wednesday, February 12th, 2025
via The Des Moines Register (Iowa)Iowa's law now bans instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade. A new House bill would expand that through high school.
Book Bans