News

Florida struggles with school vouchers as program expands

Wednesday, September 27th, 2023

via Tampa Bay Times (Florida)

A roundup of Florida education news from around the state

Book Bans

Book bans spreading across the U.S., study says

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via al.com (Alabama)

The study, Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor, found 3,362 book bans that will affect 1,557 different titles throughout the 2022–2023 academic year and will influence the works of 1,480 authors, illustrators, and translators.

Book Bans, School Board – General

New California law bars schoolbook bans based on racial and LGBTQ topics

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via KNPR (Nevada)

Gov. Gavin Newsom called the new measure "long overdue," saying that the banning binge of diversity materials has to come to an end.

Book Bans

Celeste Ng, other local literary lights headline Spell-O-Rama to fight book banning efforts in Florida

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via The Boston Globe (Massachusetts)

The adult spelling bee raises funds for the Florida Freedom to Read Project, and you don't have to be a writer or a speller to join

Book Bans

Pittsburgh children’s author writes a ‘Banned Book’

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via WESA Studios (Pennsylvania)

Pittsburgh-based children's author Jonah Winter, himself the victims of book bans, has written a picture book on the subject.

Parent Involvement, Book Bans

COLUMN: We’re No. 1!

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. (Arkansas)

Florida's extremism has come home to roost. The Sunshine State has the distinction of championing misinformation on covid-19 vaccines and intolerance on book bans.

Book Bans

Newsom bars school book bans: LGBTQ+ textbook bill signed into …

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via The Lawton Constitution (Oklahoma)

SACRAMENTO — School districts that seek to ban textbooks that portray LGBTQ+ people and other historically marginalized groups could face hefty fines under a new California law signed by Gov.

Book Bans

Newsom bars school book bans: LGBTQ+ textbook bill signed into law amid growing culture wars

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via Miami Herald (Florida)

SACRAMENTO — School districts that seek to ban textbooks that portray LGBTQ+ people and other historically marginalized groups could face hefty fines under a new California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday.

Parent Involvement, Book Bans, School Board – General

Newsom to fine schools that ban books over race, sexual orientation

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via POLITICO (New York)

Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration helped craft the proposal, which he signed into law Monday.

Book Bans, School Board – General

DeSantis’ redistricting plan on trial in federal court

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023

via POLITICO (New York)

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. A challenge to Gov. Ron DeSantis' redistricting map heads to federal court in Tallahassee this morning, in a trial that could determine control of the U.S. House…

Book Bans

Readers are concerned about attacks on free speech. Here’s why.

Monday, September 25th, 2023

via Boston.com (Massachusetts)

School is in session for students across Massachusetts. But many readers are worried about attacks on free speech, particularly in schools.

Book Bans

Where do GOP candidates stand on the issues? See for yourself.

Monday, September 25th, 2023

via POLITICO (New York)

The Republican presidential candidates have spent months carving out their viewpoints.

Parent Involvement, Book Bans

Cracking down on Florida schools — with an eye toward China

Monday, September 25th, 2023

via POLITICO (New York)

DRIVING THE WEEK — Tuesday: Federal redistricting trial starts at 8:30 a.m.Wednesday: The second GOP debate is set for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Gov. Ron DeSantis…

Book Bans

Book bans surged across the US in 2023. Florida was the blueprint.

Sunday, September 24th, 2023

via The Courant (Connecticut)

The number of books banned in school districts across the U.S reached a peak this year, a new report says, with Florida leading the way in more ways than one. The state topped the country in the number of books banned alone, representing 40% of the country's total cases with over 1,400 books removed from libraries in the 2022-23 school year, according to a report issued by PEN America.

Parent Involvement, Book Bans, School Board – General

Seminole parents are right to fight book bans

Sunday, September 24th, 2023

via Orlando Sentinel (Florida)

As Seminole County's retired assistant superintendent writes, the idea that 'parental rights' is a new thing is ludicrous. But no one individual should make decisions about what another person, including students, should read.

Parent Involvement, Book Bans, School Board – General

3 questions for Patricia McCormick, whose book ‘Sold’ has been banned in 6 states

Sunday, September 24th, 2023

via WPXI-TV (Pennsylvania)

When author Patricia McCormick published her book Sold in 2006, about a young Nepalese girl who struggles to survive after being sold into sexual slavery, she had no idea the award-winning novel would…

Parent Involvement, Book Bans, School Board – General

CCSD’s Jara pledges to stand up for children of all backgrounds

Sunday, September 24th, 2023

via Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)

Clark County School District Superintendent Jesus Jara has pledged to stand up for the civil rights of students and families in the face of extremism ...

Parent Involvement, Book Bans, School Board – General

Uncertain and afraid: Florida’s immigrants grapple with a disrupted reality under new law

Saturday, September 23rd, 2023

via Rapid City Journal (South Dakota)

In the months since Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed one of the strictest immigration laws in the country, daily life for Florida's immigrant community has become fraught and governed by fear.

Parent Involvement, Book Bans, School Board – General

Book bans surged across the US in 2023. Florida was the blueprint

Friday, September 22nd, 2023

via Sun Sentinel (Florida)

The number of books banned in school districts across the U.S reached a peak this year, a new report says, with Florida leading the way in more ways than one.

Parent Involvement, Book Bans, School Board – General