News

Former Pleasant Valley school board candidate sues progressive Iowa outlet

Friday, March 22nd, 2024

via Quad-City Times (Iowa)

A former Pleasant Valley school board candidate is suing an Iowa journalist over alleged libel in an article about book banning from 2022.

School Board – General, Book Bans, Parent Involvement

Lorrie Moore wins National Book Critics Circle award for fiction, Judy Blume also honored

Friday, March 22nd, 2024

via The Associated Press (New York)

Lorrie Moore has won the prize for fiction and Judy Blume received a lifetime achievement award from the National Book Critics Circle.

Book Bans

A Nebraska bill to subject librarians to charges for giving ‘obscene material’ to children fails

Wednesday, March 20th, 2024

via The Associated Press (Nebraska)

A bill that would have held school librarians and teachers criminally responsible for providing 'obscene material' to Nebraska students in grades K-12 failed to advance Wednesday in the Legislature.

Book Bans, Sex Education

Daily Minute: NU may name top candidate; no consequences for Halloran; spring match moves venues

Wednesday, March 20th, 2024

via Lincoln Journal Star (Nebraska)

NU may name top candidate; no consequences for Halloran; spring match moves venues

Book Bans

Pa. election 2024: A guide to the primary candidates for attorney general

Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

via PennLive (Pennsylvania)

Five Democrats and two Republicans are running for their party's nomination and will appear on the April 23 primary ballot.

Book Bans

A Nebraska lawmaker faces backlash for invoking a colleague’s name in a graphic account of rape

Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

via The Associated Press (Nebraska)

A Nebraska lawmaker is facing calls for his resignation after reading a graphic account of rape that included a colleague's name on the floor of the Nebraska Legislature.

Book Bans

Juvenile justice survives General Assembly’s crossover day, ‘fair share’ tax bill doesn’t

Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

via Capital Gazette (Maryland)

Here's a look at the winners and losers, so far, in regard to legislation in the Maryland General Assembly.

Book Bans

Lawmaker inserts colleague’s name into rape scene during book ban debate

Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

via The Washington Post (Nebraska)

At least three colleagues called for Nebraska state Sen. Steve Halloran's (R) resignation after he read a passage from Alice Sebold's 'Lucky,' inserting 'Senator Cavanaugh.'

Book Bans

Lawmakers move dozens of bills ahead of key deadline in session’s final weeks

Monday, March 18th, 2024

via The Baltimore Banner (Maryland)

If a bill hasn't been shuttled across the State House's marble hallway by the last session of Monday's 'crossover day' it's less likely to make it through the legislative process.

Book Bans

Rainbow Book Bus stops in San Antonio to give away banned LGBTQ+ books

Monday, March 18th, 2024

via Texas Standard (Texas)

A bus touring the South to give away LGBTQ+ books in response to the rise in efforts to ban books made a stop in San Antonio Wednesday.

Book Bans

North Dakota shows most support for Christian nationalism in US, new study finds

Monday, March 18th, 2024

via InForum (North Dakota)

Fifty percent of North Dakota respondents said they adhered to or sympathized with Christian nationalism, compared to a national average of just 33%.

Book Bans

The education of a true believer

Sunday, March 17th, 2024

via The Washington Post (Washington)

Linda Wenhold absorbed the Patriot Academy's message that America is falling apart as it drifts from its biblical roots. Then she won a local school board seat.

School Board – General, Book Bans

Maryland lawmakers work to push legislation ahead of important deadline

Saturday, March 16th, 2024

via Capital Gazette (Maryland)

In a rush to meet Monday's deadline for bills to 'crossover' to the opposite legislative chamber, members of the Maryland House of Delegates and state Senate have endured marathon floor…

Book Bans

3 Anchorage School Board members face challengers in upcoming election

Saturday, March 16th, 2024

via Anchorage Daily News (Alaska)

The election comes at a time when the district faces significant challenges, and pits incumbents against candidates who say they want to see fundamental changes to how the board operates.

School Board – General, Book Bans, Parent Involvement

Florida picks Moms for Liberty members for group to advise librarians on book removals

Friday, March 15th, 2024

via The Palm Beach Post (Florida)

Moms for Liberty members make up half of a group to advise Florida school districts on how to select titles and when to pull them off of shelves.

Book Bans, Parent Involvement

Book ban attempts reached historic high last year, library association says

Thursday, March 14th, 2024

via NBC Chicago (Illinois)

The association says that 4,240 individual book titles were targeted for removal from schools and public libraries — a sharp increase from the previous high of 2,571 in 2022.

Book Bans, Parent Involvement

‘Keep the kids reading.’ New Overtown exhibition combines Black history, banned books

Thursday, March 14th, 2024

via Miami Herald (Florida)

Exhibit in Overtown highlights banned books with installations created by 10 different artists.

Book Bans, Parent Involvement

MN lawmakers look to block book bans at schools

Thursday, March 14th, 2024

via FOX59 News (Minnesota)

If a book is age-appropriate, it shouldn't be banned based on the messages and ideas it conveys. That's the argument some lawmakers made at the Capitol Wednesday.

School Board – General, Book Bans

In Our View: Another chapter in book ban political debate

Tuesday, March 12th, 2024

via The Columbian (Washington)

The close of the 2024 legislative session in Olympia is unlikely to be the last we will hear about bills related to education. By working to promote inclusion and protect academic integrity, the Democ

Book Bans