For the third time in four years, Raina Telgemeier’s Drama was considered too hot for a Texas school, according to the state ACLU chapter’s latest banned books report which was recently released. In fact, the graphic novel about an adolescent…
Tag: united states
Lawsuit Overturns Utah Schools Ban on ‘Advocacy of Homosexuality’
Advocacy groups in Utah settled a discrimination lawsuit against the state last week, after both the legislature and the statewide board of education repealed rules that banned “advocacy of homosexuality” in public schools. In practice the rules had basically quashed…
Florida Superintendent Orders Ban on All Books Judged ‘Inappropriate’
In response to a draconian censorship directive recently issued by the superintendent of schools in Dixie County, Florida, CBLDF this week joined with other member organizations of the Kids’ Right to Read Project in defending vast swathes of library and…
Pennsylvania School District Retains Handmaid’s Tale on Summer Reading List
School district officials in Wyomissing, PA decided last week to keep The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood as an option on a summer reading list for 11th grade Honors English, despite complaints from parents who called the book “obscene” and…
California School District Reaffirms Support for Teacher Who Read Transgender Books
In front of a standing-room-only crowd of about 500 people, a public charter school system in Rocklin, California reaffirmed this week that a kindergarten teacher’s in-class reading of two transgender-themed picture books was in line with district policy. However, the…
ACLU Defends Satire in Response to Coal CEO’s Suit Against John Oliver
The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia came to the defense of John Oliver and Mr. Nutterbutter the giant squirrel yesterday, filing an amicus brief in a lawsuit against the comedian from notoriously litigious coal baron Bob Murray over…
Colorado School Board Backs Superintendent’s Ban on Teen Romance Novel
A young adult romance novel has been removed from the library of Challenger Middle School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after Academy District 20’s superintendent and school board overruled a review committee’s unanimous recommendation to keep it on shelves. In voting…
TSA Ends Test of Separate Scanning for Books
The Transportation Security Administration has ended tests of a new requirement for passengers to remove books and other paper items from their carry-on luggage during security screening. An agency spokeswoman left room for the new rules to return at a…
Florida Governor Signs School Censorship Bill into Law
Florida governor Rick Scott yesterday approved legislation that will facilitate challenges to classroom materials, allowing any county resident to lodge a challenge against textbooks or supplemental materials that they claim fail to present “a noninflammatory, objective, and balanced viewpoint on…
Kentucky School District Pulls Thirteen Reasons Why from Middle School Curriculum
The school district in Anderson County, Kentucky has pulled Jay Asher’s novel Thirteen Reasons Why from middle school classrooms, despite the fact that it had been approved for instructional use last school year. According to the local newspaper, Superintendent Sheila…