More than 10,000 instances of book bans were recorded in the 2023-24 school year, according to the recently released PEN America report “Banned in the USA: Beyond the Shelves.”
This figure marks a record high, along with the more than 4,000 unique titles that were removed.
In New Jersey during the 2023-24 school year, there was one instance of a book ban, with only one school district banning a book. Those totals match Massachusetts, Minnesota, Indiana and Louisiana. Meanwhile, Florida led the country with 4,561 book bans, followed by Iowa with 3,671.
“The restrictions on books and access to authors, stories and information are today having far-reaching implications,” the report’s authors write in their conclusion. “In the third year of this worsening book banning crisis, the defense of the core principles of public education and the freedom to read, learn and think is as necessary now as ever.”
In related news, Jeremy C. Young, program director for PEN America’s Freedom to Learn op-ed series, will participate in a webinar on Nov. 19 to discuss “America’s Censored Classrooms 2024: Refining the Art of Censorship.” Co-authored by Young and Jeffrey Adam Sachs, the October 2024 report delves into “the educational censorship laws introduced and passed in the now mostly concluded 2024 legislative sessions, with a particular focus on higher education.”
The webinar, co-presented by AFT Higher Education, begins at 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 19. To register, click here.