Books

Banned books are visible at the Central Library, a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library system, in New York City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. The books are banned in several public schools and libraries in the U.S., but young people can read digital versions from anywhere through the library. The Brooklyn Public Library offers free membership to anyone in the U.S. aged 13 to 21 who wants to check out and read books digitally in response to the nationwide wave of book censorship and restrictions.
Banned books are on diplay at the Central Library, a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library system, in New York City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. Some of these books are among those banned by school districts in Texas.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
School & District Management ACLU Texas Files OCR Complaint Over a District's Anti-Trans Book Ban
The group claims the Keller school district's new policy to remove books about gender fluidity from library shelves violates federal law.
Eesha Pendharkar, November 30, 2022
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4 min read
Banned books are visible at the Central Library, a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library system, in New York City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. The books are banned in several public schools and libraries in the U.S., but young people can read digital versions from anywhere through the library. The Brooklyn Public Library offers free membership to anyone in the U.S. aged 13 to 21 who wants to check out and read books digitally in response to the nationwide wave of book censorship and restrictions.
Several titles in this display of books in at the Central Library in New York city are on Missouri's banned books list. The N.Y. library allows young people anywhere to read digital versions of the books.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
Curriculum Nearly 300 Books Removed From Schools Under Missouri's 'Sexually Explicit Materials' Law
Missouri's efforts to remove books from public schools—either temporarily or permanently—go farther than most.
Eesha Pendharkar, November 18, 2022
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5 min read
101422 mindy lily freeman photo 02 BS
Lily Freeman and her mother, Mindy Freeman, have actively campaigned against efforts to restrict LGBQT books in the Central Bucks school district and elsewhere.
Courtesy of Mindy Freeman
Equity & Diversity Why a Trans Student and Her Mom Are Fighting Their District's Anti-LGBTQ Policies
Lily Freeman and her mother, Mindy Freeman, are working to stem a slew of anti-LGBTQ policies and directives issued in Central Bucks County, Pa.
Eesha Pendharkar, October 14, 2022
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6 min read
Two overlapping speech bubbles with splatters where the two meet. Symbolic of controversy and debate in dialect.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Curriculum Republicans and Democrats Agree: High Schools Should Teach 'Controversial' Issues
While Republicans and Democrats agree on some topics, there are sharp political divides on others, especially LGBTQ issues.
Sarah Schwartz, October 12, 2022
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7 min read
A recent bookstore display features books that have been frequently banned from schools.
A display of banned books is in a Barnes & Noble book store in Pittsford, New York, on Sunday, September 25, 2022.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
Reading & Literacy As Book Bans Escalate, Here's What You Need to Know
Catch up on numbers and findings from new reports on the growing push to ban books in schools and libraries.
Eesha Pendharkar, September 30, 2022
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5 min read
Ashley Hope Pérez, author of "Out of Darkness," the third most banned book in the country.
Ashley Hope Pérez, author of <i>Out of Darkness,</i> the third most banned book in the country.
Photo courtesy of Ashley Hope Pérez
Reading & Literacy Q&A Banned-Book Author: If a Book Isn't in the School Library, 'It Might as Well Not Exist'
Ashley Hope Pérez, an author and a former high school English teacher, explains her concerns with the current wave of school book bans.
Eesha Pendharkar, September 27, 2022
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7 min read
Amanda Jones, a librarian in Livingston Parish, La., pictured on Sept. 13, 2022. Jones is suing members of a Facebook group who harassed her virtually after she spoke against censorship in a public library meeting. Jones received angry emails and even a death threat from people across the country after she filed the lawsuit.
Amanda Jones, a librarian in Livingston Parish, La., is suing members of a Facebook group who harassed her virtually after she spoke against censorship in a public library meeting.
Claire Bangser for Education Week
Law & Courts A School Librarian Pushes Back on Censorship and Gets Death Threats and Online Harassment
Amanda Jones lost her legal battle against online harassers this week but vows to continue to press her case.
Eesha Pendharkar, September 22, 2022
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7 min read
Image of books piled in a locked cell.
erhui1979/DigitalVision Vectors
Equity & Diversity Who's Behind the Escalating Push to Ban Books? A New Report Has Answers
Right-wing activist organizations and Republican lawmakers are pushing to get books about LGBTQ people and racism removed, says PEN America.
Eesha Pendharkar, September 19, 2022
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5 min read
Reading & Literacy Spotlight Spotlight on K-8 Reading
This Spotlight will help you analyze reading gaps, investigate strategies for improving literacy skills, and more.
September 15, 2022
Books packed up in a cardboard box.
Patrick Daxenbichler/iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession Q&A A Teacher Who 'Refused to Be Party to Censorship' Tells Her Story
The teacher was targeted for sharing links to online libraries with students amid district book challenges.
Ileana Najarro, September 14, 2022
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8 min read
Amanda Darrow, director of youth, family and education programs at the Utah Pride Center, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in recent weeks on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021, in Salt Lake City.
Amanda Darrow, the director of youth, family, and education programs at the Utah Pride Center in Salt Lake City, poses with books that have been the subject of complaints from parents in recent weeks.
Rick Bowmer/AP Photo
Curriculum Is Your School Facing a Book Challenge? These Online Resources May Help
Book challenges are popping up with more frequency. Here are supports for teachers fighting censorship.
Ileana Najarro, September 1, 2022
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5 min read
Deb Lambert, director of collection management for the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library for the past three years, looks over the books at the Library Services Center on Sept. 25, 2015. When a flap occurs at the library, the matter becomes the responsibility of Lambert.
More districts are seeking to restrict access to some books or remove them from classrooms and libraries altogether.
Charlie Nye/The Indianapolis Star via AP
Curriculum Q&A These Teachers' Book List Was Going to Be Restricted. Their Students Fought Back
The Central York district planned to restrict use of some materials last year. Here's how teachers and their students turned the tide.
Ileana Najarro, August 29, 2022
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8 min read
Distressed photograph of an empty card catalogue cabinet
Arkadiusz Warguła/iStock/Getty
Education Funding Opinion Book Bans? My School Doesn’t Even Have a Library
Underfunding schools is its own censorship, writes one Philadelphia public school teacher. After all, they can’t ban books we don’t have.
Lydia Kulina-Washburn, July 26, 2022
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4 min read
conceptual illustration of a stairway of books leading out of a dark space filled with letters
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock/Getty images
Reading & Literacy Opinion No, Fewer Books, Less Writing Won't Add Up to Media Literacy
NCTE’s call to “decenter” print media in favor of digital media has some troubling implications, argues Mike Schmoker.
Mike Schmoker, June 3, 2022
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4 min read
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