Book Bans by State

For the last three school years, PEN America has recorded instances of book bans in public schools nationwide. In that time, efforts to erase certain stories and identities from school libraries have not only intensified; book bans have become a bellwether of the chilling of public education writ large. As this report on the 2023-24 school year documents, the last school year was no different, as censorial trends have continued to ripple beyond the shelves.