society United States
US public school book bans reach a record annual high
12,000instances
Book bans in US public schools during the 2025–2026 school year
PEN America reported almost 12,000 book bans in US public schools during the 2025–2026 school year, including more than 8,100 in Texas. The organization said the annual total and the number of affected school districts were records.
1 sourceThe GuardianUpdated
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- 12,000instances
Book bans in US public schools during the 2025–2026 school year
“almost 12,000 book bans in public schools during the 2025-2026 school year”
The 2025–2026 school year had the highest annual number of US public school book bans reported by PEN America
“the highest number in a single year”
- 34,000instances
Book-ban instances recorded by PEN America since it began tallying in 2021
“there had been 34,000 instances of book bans since the organization started tallying”