National News
Page 5 of 77
New Hermon superintendent wants to embrace transparency at embattled school department
Wednesday, March 5th, 2025
via Bangor Daily News (Maine)Barbara Sargent faces the task of uniting a split community during a tumultuous period for the school district that has included lawsuits and attempted book bans.
Book Bans
Georgia Today: Tort reform bill faces pushback; Senate debates book bans; Ga. HS Basketball Finals
Tuesday, March 4th, 2025
via Georgia Public Broadcasting (Georgia)On the March 4 edition: Gov. Brian Kemp's tort reform bill faces pushback from survivors of violent crimes; Georgia Senate reignites a debate over the banning of books; and Georgia High School…
Book Bans
‘Lawmakers’ Day 26: House OKs midyear budget, Senate passes ban on hormone therapy for minors
Tuesday, March 4th, 2025
via Georgia Public Broadcasting (Georgia)With Crossover Day near, House members voted on over 20 bills. Banning gender dysphoria treatment was once again on the Senate's busy agenda.
Book Bans
‘It was action’: Amherst resident’s play spotlights Freedom Riders’ journey
Tuesday, March 4th, 2025
via NewsAdvance.com (Virginia)Amherst resident Sharon Ponton's play "Freedom Riders: Our History Revisited" brings to life the historic journey a group of 13 men and women, Black and white, embarked on in May 1961 to bring…
Book Bans
Lawmakers consider ‘Freedom to Read’ bill as latest attempt to limit book bans in Oregon schools
Monday, March 3rd, 2025
via Oregon Public Broadcasting (Oregon)Proponents point to historic highs in book ban attempts, largely targeting people of color, women and LGBTQ+ communities. Opponents argue it should be up to the parents.
School Board – General, Book Bans, Parent Involvement
Waterloo school board members speak on new federal DEI mandates
Monday, March 3rd, 2025
via Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Iowa)With a deadline to scrap DEI initiatives approaching, Waterloo school board members are publicly speaking on federal directives.
School Board – General, Book Bans, Parent Involvement, Sex Education
North Dakota citizen-led group organizes statewide ‘Read Outs’
Monday, February 24th, 2025
via Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota)Right to Read ND is encouraging people to bring a book and read silently outside their local library on Saturday, March 1, in opposition to Senate Bill 2307, which legislates library materials.
School Board – General, Book Bans
Sexual assault survivor implores Iowa lawmakers to pass ‘Erin’s Law’
Monday, February 24th, 2025
via Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Iowa)Senate File 172 would require all Iowa schools to teach sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention to students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Book Bans, Sex Education
Bibliofiles: Challenging the freedom to read
Sunday, February 23rd, 2025
via Times Union (New York)Organizations like the New York Library Association and the New York Civil Liberties Union fight book bans, censorship and challenges to the freedom to read
Book Bans
Spot Lit: Four Local Authors Questioning Societal Norms and Personal Biases
Friday, February 21st, 2025
via Washington City Paper (District of Columbia)As the White House seeks to control the art we consume, from the Kennedy Center to book bans, these local authors are the voices we need now.
Book Bans
50+ books to add to your reading list this Black History Month
Wednesday, February 19th, 2025
via Boston.com (Massachusetts)Celebrate Black History Month with a good book. Our readers recommended 50+ stories to dive into this February and beyond.
Book Bans
Nassau County faces lawsuit over executive power, following a trend seen across U.S., lawyers say
Wednesday, February 19th, 2025
via Newsday (New York)Democrats claim Nassau's special deputies program violates county and state laws.
Book Bans
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