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5 Important First Amendment Reminders for Students and Schools from the Utah AG

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In compliance with a new state bill (HB 374) the Utah Attorney General released a memorandum to “provide guidance and training to public schools on identifying sensitive materials.” Though written for Utah local education agencies (LEA), the memo outlines First…

Spinning in Llano: Citizens Go to Court

Spinning, the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel by Tillie Walden, is one of several books that prompted a federal lawsuit Monday. Citizens from Llano County, Texas, a county Northwest of Austin, have filed the suit against the county and several public…

PEN Report Reveals All Graphic Novels Banned in the Last Nine Months

April ushered in two important reports on censorship in the past year. The American Library Association released its report on the “Top 10 Challenged Books,” and PEN America released its report “Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten…

House Committee on Oversight to Hold Hearing on Book Bans

Book challenges and bans have been sweeping the nation at an alarming rate over the past two years. With the release of the American Library Association’s State of America’s Libraries Report yesterday, we now have an equally alarming set of data about…

Gender Queer Tops Most Challenged Book List of 2021

This morning, as part of National Library Week, American Library Association released their Top Ten Challenged Books of 2021. Each year, ALA compiles the report and list from information gathered from library staff across the country year-round. Schools, universities, and…

Bill Watch — Update on HB 666

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New information came to light recently regarding Idaho’s House Bill 666, supporting the fact that two graphic novels, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel and Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, were targeted by the legislation. HB…

Bill Watch — Idaho HB 666

A dutch angle of the columns in front of a court house

Another problematic bill has reared its ugly head in the state of Idaho this winter. First introduced in February, Idaho House Bill 666, a bill that criminalizes librarians (among others), passed the House on Monday. It is now moving on…

Texas Legislators Target Vendors

Last week, Texas state representative Jared Patterson penned a letter to school superintendents across the state. The letter, signed by twenty-six fellow Republican representatives, called on the schools to sign an enclosed pledge. The pledge calls on school officials to “neither knowingly partner…