New York (AP) – New report found on book bans in US schools Stephen King As the authors are most likely to be censored, the country was divided between states actively restricting their works and countries seeking to limit or eliminate prohibitions.
Pen America’s Released Wednesday, “The US Prohibition” tracks more than 6,800 instances of books that have been temporarily or permanently drawn out during the 2024-2025 academic year. The new numbers have fallen from over 10,000 in 2023-24, but when it was well above the level a few years ago, Penn didn’t even see the need to edit the report.
Approximately 80% of these bans occurred in just three states that have attempted to enact or enact laws requiring the removal of books that appear to be Florida, Texas and Tennessee. Meanwhile, Penn is in several other states, including Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey Among those who have laws that restrict the authority of schools and public libraries to draw books.
“It’s an increasingly two-country story,” says Casey Meehan, director of Penn’s freedom program and author of Wednesday’s report. “And that’s not just a story of a red state and a blue state. In Florida, not all school districts responded to a call to ban books. You can find differences from county to county.”
King’s book censored “Carry” and “Stand,” which were influenced by “Carry” and “Stand,” according to Penn. The most banned of the authors was Anthony Burgess’ dystopian classic “Clockwork Orange” in the 1960s. Other books and authors facing widespread limitations include Patricia McCormick’s “Sales” Judy Bloom “Eternity” and “Breathtaking” by Jennifer Niven, and many works by Sarah J. Mars Jody Picoll.
Reasons often cited to pull books include LGBTQ+ themes, descriptions of race, and writings with violence and sexual violence. The ongoing trends Pen has discovered are strengthened. Thousands of books have been removed from the shelves in anticipation of community, political or legal pressures rather than responding to direct threats.
“This serves as a form of ‘abiding progress’,” the report reads “it is rooted in a desire to avoid topics that appear to be rooted in fear or simply controversial.”
Penn’s report comes from censorship efforts not only from state and conservative activists but also from federal government. The Department of Education has ended the Biden administration’s initiative to investigate the legality of the ban and summoned the whole issue “A hoax.” The numbers on the pen include the Department of Defense removal Hundreds of books From kindergarten to high school libraries for military families as part of the DEI initiative and overall campaign against “non-American” thinking.
In Florida, where more than 2,000 books are banned or restricted, a small number of counties were responsible for many of the King’s removal. Dozens were pulled last year as part of a review of whether it is compliant with state law.
“His books are often removed from the shelf when books with the title “adult” or “sex content” are subject to deletion. These bans overwhelmingly ban LGBTQ+ content and books on race, racism and people of color, but they also affect titles like Stephen King’s books,” Meehan says. “Some districts are overly cautious or fearful of punishment, which means they will clean very widely and eliminate Stephen King from access.”
Pen’s methodology is different American Library AssociationIt also publishes an annual report on prohibitions and issues. Pen numbers are in some cases much higher as ALA only counts permanent removals or restrictions, as Free Expression organizations count books that have been deleted or restricted for a long time.
Both organizations acknowledge that receiving directly is far from comprehensive, as they rely heavily on media reports and information. Stephana Ferrell, director of Research & Insight at the Florida Freedom To Project, wrote in an email this week that she left hundreds of recent bans in the state that have not yet been widely publicized.
The Penn report does not contain banned data from Ohio, Oklahoma, Arkansas and other “red” states, as researchers were unable to find the appropriate document. Meehan added that Penn is also unaware of the full impact of statewide law.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to quantify the scope of books that ban crisis,” Meehan says. “With the Prohibition Act passed, we have no data to know if all schools in that state are affecting books. Our data is a snapshot, which we could collect through publicly reported or revealed by journalists.”
___
Associated Press writer Kate Payne from Tallahassee, Florida contributed to this report.
