Category: Education

Yertle the Turtle Quote Again Allowed in BC Schools

More than a year after a quote from the Dr. Seuss classic Yertle the Turtle was banned from classrooms in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a settlement has been reached allowing teachers to bring Yertle back to school. The ban arose…

TUSD’s Lift of Book Ban Draws Ire of Arizona Department of Education

After nearly two years of being banned from classrooms, the school board for the Tucson Unified School District voted to allow seven Mexican American Studies books back into classrooms as supplemental materials. The move received an immediate negative response from…

Massachusetts Library Survey Reveals Challenges to Comics

A recent exhaustive survey of challenges and bans of materials in Massachusetts public libraries has uncovered a few cases involving comics and graphic novels — as well as a major shortcoming in the state’s public records law, which allows libraries…

Using Graphic Novels in Education: Boxers & Saints

Welcome to Using Graphic Novels in Education, an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of banned books and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine books that have…

The Secret History of Comics Censorship

Researcher Carol Tilley revealed to the world that much of Fredric Wertham’s data supporting the “dangers” of comics were largely fabricated. Her evidence? Wertham’s own notes and papers. Recently, Tilley joined CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein and Abrams Comicarts editorial…

Tucson School District Lifts Ban on Mexican American Studies Books

Nearly two years ago, the Tucson school district dissolved the acclaimed Mexican American Studies program. In doing so, they removed seven books by Latino and Native writers from the curriculum. Last night, the TUSD school board voted 3-2 to allow…

Mockingbird Restored in Plaquemines Parish Schools

Victory in Louisiana! Just over a week after the Plaquemines Parish School District reinstated a previously imposed ban on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the book was restored to classrooms after a special school board meeting last night. According…

Be Counted! Help CBLDF Stand Up To Book Censorship!

In 2013, book censorship is on the rise. CBLDF is fighting back, but we can’t do it without you! From the attempted ban on Persepolis in the Chicago Public Schools last spring, to the current controversy over the removal of…

Alamogordo Teachers, Librarian Speak Out On Neverwhere

With Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere currently suspended from classroom use at Alamogordo (New Mexico) High School, English teachers and the school’s librarian are speaking out to make it clear that the book has not been removed from the library and that…