US book bans in public schools reach record annual high of 12,000
A display of banned books behind metal bars with informational plaques on wall of a building, San Francisco, California, on 14 May 2026. Photograph: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA display of banned books behind metal bars with informational plaques on wall of a building, San Francisco, California, on 14 May 2026. Texas saw the greatest number of book bans in the 2025-2026 school year – more than 8,100.PEN America’s report said this surge in Texas stemmed from the Texas law SB13, which bars extensive categories of books in schools.
- ▪A display of banned books behind metal bars with informational plaques on wall of a building, San Francisco, California, on 14 May 2026.
- ▪Photograph: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA display of banned books behind metal bars with informational plaques on wall of a building, San Francisco, California, on 14 May 2026.
- ▪Texas saw the greatest number of book bans in the 2025-2026 school year – more than 8,100.PEN America’s report said this surge in Texas stemmed from the Texas law SB13, which bars extensive categories of books in schools.
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — World |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/05/book-bans-schools-record-high |
| Publication time | Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:18:42 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-10-05T14:37:38.505Z |
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A display of banned books behind metal bars with informational plaques on wall of a building, San Francisco, California, on 14 May 2026. Photograph: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA display of banned books behind metal bars with informational plaques on wall of a building, San Francisco, California, on 14 May 2026. Photograph: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesUS book bansUS book bans in public schools reach record annual high of 12,000Texas tops list with 8,100 bans while Stephen King is again most banned author, PEN America findsVictoria BekiempisMon 5 Oct 2026 10.18 EDTLast modified on Mon 5 Oct 2026 10.20 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleThe US saw almost 12,000 book bans in public schools during the 2025-2026 school year, the highest number in a single…
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