Dive Brief:
-
Librarians, school administrators and school boards are increasingly limiting specific authors, viewpoints and books with diverse representation by avoiding certain topics or content. This "soft censorship" is born out of fear of curriculum restrictions, according to a report released last week by PEN America, a free speech advocacy organization that tracks curriculum censorship.
-
A handful of large districts, for example, have trimmed bookshelves based on their perceived divisive or explicit content or on an ideological basis. These districts have banned collections out of fear, including popular or recently-acquired titles with sex-related content and diverse representation, according to PEN.
-
However, out of 4,218 unique book titles banned in the 2023-24 school year, slightly less than a third (31%) referred to sexual experiences, and only 13% described the sexual experiences “on the page." Of those titles banned in the 2023-24 school year, around 36% featured characters of color.
Dive Insight:
The uptick in book bans in recent years can largely be traced back to the tail end of President Donald Trump's first term, which sparked state laws limiting curriculum content. Since then, the number of books banned have increased from 2,532 in 2021-22 to 10,046 last school year, according to PEN.
“This targeted censorship amounts to a harmful assault on historically marginalized and underrepresented populations — a dangerous effort to erase their stories, achievements, and history from schools,” said Sabrina Baêta, senior manager for PEN's Freedom to Read program, in a Feb. 27 statement. “The damaging consequences to young people are real.”
However, proponents of state laws and school policies banning books have said they are limiting "explicit," "pornographic" or "divisive content."
For example, Florida, which catapulted "Don't Say Gay" and "anti-CRT" policies to other states, originally barred instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for younger students in grades K-3, saying it was "designed to keep school districts from talking about these topics before kids are ready to process them.” The state later expanded its censorship to grades 4-12.
In fact, some of the most commonly banned titles in 2023-24 are those often read by students in the higher grades, such as books by Toni Morrison, John Green, Margaret Atwood and Jodi Picoult, according to the PEN report released last week.
Trump has continued his movement to defend curriculum censorship since taking office in 2025 — in stark contrast to the Biden administration, which had appointed a book ban coordinator under the Education Department to curb censorship.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration rescinded guidance released under Biden that said school districts could violate civil rights law by implementing book bans, according to a statement issued Jan. 24 by the new Trump administration.
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, which can launch investigations into districts for violating civil rights laws, announced the same day that it had dismissed 11 complaints related to “book bans," which it referred to as a "hoax."
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said that by dropping the book ban investigations, the office was "beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education" and returning to the "the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities."
Dive Awards
