Book Bans Spiking Over Last School Year [Banned Books Week 2023]
PEN America recently published a report about the spiking in book bans in schools over the last year.
They found that it had spiked 33% in the last year, compared to the previous one.
And which state has the most book bans? Florida, which accounted for 40% of the bans.
Misleading rhetoric like “porn in schools”, “sexually explicit” and “age appropriate” were used as the basis of arguments to remove the material.
What has been one of the drivers of this? Misleading and very vague legislation.
And according to their research,
“In the 153 school districts across the country that banned a book during the 2022-23 school year, 124(81 percent) have a chapter or local affiliate nearby of one or more of the three most prominent national groups pushing for book bans — Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom, and Parents’ Rights in Education. These districts are where 87percent (2,912) of book bans have occurred.”
This is a report that I highly recommend that you read, especially if you are a parent of a child in schools.
