Book Censorship News, November 21, 2025

Before diving into the specifics of each of these bills–as well as sharing a guest piece from two authors’ experiences bringing Rhode Island’s bill to law this year–a little bit about what this type of anti-censorship legislation does.

Defining “Freedom to Read” Bills–What They Do and Don’t Do

In general, there are two types of anti-book ban bills being passed at the state level. The first ties a pool of money to libraries creating policies asserting that they will not ban books. That agreement may involve proving the library has a policy in place against book banning modeled after the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read statement or one that is more specific to the particular institution. If the library has these things, the library sends proof to the designated official in the state, and they receive a small grant to use for your library.

In Illinois, those grants have ranged in the $800-$2000 range, which for many libraries, is a huge sum of money. This style of anti-book ban bill does not require compliance, and as reported by the Chicago Tribune, many places throughout the state have simply elected not to take the grant money. These bills can apply to public libraries only, to public school libraries only, or to both simultaneously, as each state legislates this differently.

The second type of anti-book ban bill strengthens librarian job protections. These bills codify that librarians, as part of their job, can deny book bans and defend a book’s presence in the collection. Librarians are experts with the knowledge and resources to make developmentally—and community—appropriate collection decisions, and as such, when they defend a book’s inclusion in a library, their jobs will not be on the line. These bills are meant to encourage librarians to do the work. They’re a safety net for library workers who’ve been engaged in anti-censorship measures in their libraries.

But like the other style of anti-book ban bill, these measures do not require librarians to do anything. Indeed, those already deeply engaged in quiet/silent censorship can continue unfettered. In some cases, such legislation further emboldens those who simply don’t purchase materials or inappropriately “weed” them because they can make the claim they’re doing the thing that’s best for their community (what they mean is they don’t want to do their jobs and are instead either in agreement with the complaints or are complying in advance).

These two broad categories of anti-book ban bills can overlap. Politicians who draft or sponsor these bills try to do so with the knowledge of what has the best possibility of passing, thus why each piece of legislation differs. That’s also why sometimes you’ll see several pieces of legislation addressing all of these parts separately. In at least one state–Rhode Island–the Freedom to Read Bill also ensures protections for authors and creators. In an era where right-wing politicians and their sycophants are eager to label anything and anyone obscene or pornographic, such protections ensure the freedom to create remains fundamental.

As always, it’s worth noting that these bills address one type of book censorship: the banning part. There are, however, Four Rs of book censorship, a term and classification coined by Dr. Emily Knox:

• Restriction, or the intentional inability for books to be accessed by all who may want them. This would be putting books behind a desk so that people must ask to borrow them and may be denied if they don’t meet certain requirements.
• Redaction, the intentional editing or removal of material from a work. Cy-Fair Independent School District (TX) did this when they elected to omit sections from textbooks to be used by students that they disagreed with. Another example would be drawing underwear on a character in a book who may be nude, as was done several times in libraries in the ’70s and ’80s with Maurice Sendak’s In The Night Kitchen.
• Relocation, the intentional moving of a book from one area of the library to another. This is what Greenville County Libraries (SC) did with their youth LGBTQ+ books. It’s what was going in at East Hamilton Public Library (IN) before the board returned to actually serving its community rather than a few religious zealots.
• Removal, also known as a book ban.

Anti-book ban bills only address that last R at this point, the actual removal of books. That still leaves plenty of room for libraries to redact, restrict, and relocate materials, as well as engage in quiet/silent censorship. It’s not a complete end to book censorship, and because of how much latitude there is in what these bills require, so, too, is there plenty of room for continuing book bans even in states with these laws.

None of this is meant to be a downer. There is something crucial in these bills: politicians working to get anti-book ban bills passed are signaling to constituents that they are listening to library workers, authors, and readers, and that they care about what’s happening to libraries. They are championing the institutions being attacked. Even if their attempts are only moderately successful in addressing the issues, they’re majorly symbolic. These legislators are the ones that not only library workers should continue to get into the ears (and inboxes) of, but so, too, should every citizen concerned about what’s happening in libraries both in their state and beyond.

Three Freedom to Read Bills on Deck for 2026

Massachusetts has had some form of an anti-book ban bill kicking around the legislature for several years, but it’s found renewed activity this fall. State senators took up and passed the bill last week. As passed in that chamber, the bill protects school librarians when it comes to challenges brought to materials while also limiting the types of materials that can be challenged or removed from those collections. Materials in collections must be selected by a professional with training and education in collection development, and all book challenges in schools must be recorded and reported to the state for data collection. Each school can develop their own policies around materials challenge, so long as discrimination isn’t among the valid reasons for a challenge or removal of library material.

The Senate added an amendment during their deliberation as well, and it gives added protections to authors. They may challenge their book’s removal from school libraries in court as well. This is similar to the bill passed in Rhode Island last year.

Massachusetts’s Freedom to Read Bill will now move to the state’s House of Representatives. You can keep tabs on the bill, as well as learn how you can get engaged with its passage, with the Massachusetts Freedom to Read coalition.

New Mexico attempted to pass a freedom to read bill in 2024, but time ran out before it made its way through the legislature. The state tried again in 2025, and they’re now giving it another go in this next legislative session. In fact, there are three bills being proposed by three legislators covering public libraries, public school libraries, and public academic libraries. The suite of bills would protect library workers from harassment or retaliation for protecting the right to read while also limiting the types of materials that could be challenged.

Author Kit Rosewater is one of those engaged in getting these protections passed in New Mexico; it became clear to her how important such legislation was when she experienced the cancelation of a school author event following local parent complaints and harassment.

“Almost immediately after I cancelled, I heard from the library director of the public school system, who then connected me with several activist groups in Albuquerque including a local group called Grandparents and Allies for Truth–which formed in direct opposition to Moms for Liberty,” Rosewater explained. “Regina Dickens, the founder of Grandparents and Allies for Truth, shared with me two bills for the House and Senate in New Mexico, which they have been working on with several legislators including Sedillo Lopez. They told me that as a local author with a banned book, I could be a helpful narrative in their efforts, to show New Mexicans that book bans are a threatening issue here, and that we have to take steps toward protecting the freedom to read.”

Rosewater is working with a coalition of several New Mexico organizations under the banner of The Freedom to Read in Truth, as well as Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Representative Kathleen Cates on the effort. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham will hear their bill proposals on December 11, 2025.

Anyone in New Mexico is invited to help in the effort to get the bills passed. Right now, Grandparents and Allies for Truth is hosting a letter writing campaign in advance of the bills’ presentation to the Governor. You can sign up to take part here or email Regina Dickens at [email protected].

“If our anti-book ban legislation gets passed in New Mexico, this will give every school teacher and librarian that extra support in their endeavors to keep books on the shelves for children,” said Rosewater.

In Pennsylvania, Senator Amanda M. Cappelletti and Representative Paul Friel attempted to pass a freedom to read bill in 2023. Senate Bill 926 did not move beyond committee in that session. But Cappelletti is bringing another version of the right to read bill for 2026, and in it, she references the bills that have passed successfully in several other states. The proposed bill would mirror much of how Illinois’s bill operates.

The to-be-introduced bill would require the State Librarian and public libraries across Pennsylvania to adapt the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights as policy, as well as develop an additional policy addressing the fact that libraries do not ban books or other materials. Libraries that do not sign on would be denied state funding.

“This is not a partisan issue. Polling conducted by bipartisan research firms has shown that voters across the political spectrum oppose book bans and have confidence in libraries to make good decisions about their collections,” said Cappelletti in her announcement of the forthcoming legislative proposal.

Several authors and literary advocates are working on the ground in Pennsylvania to ensure the state enshrines the right to read. If you’re in Pennsylvania, you can find out more and get involved through the Education Law Center and PA WINS.

Personal Stories and Broad Coalitions: What We Learned Fighting for the Rhode Island Freedom to Read Act

So how can the average person get involved in either the work to pass the above legislation or spearhead right to read legislation in their own state? It feels only appropriate to share some of the lessons learned by two authors who worked to pass the groundbreaking freedom to read bill in Rhode Island earlier this year. Use this as inspiration and motivation to keep showing up, whether you’re able to begin the work with something on paper or you’re starting from scratch. This kind of legislation will never be perfect, but it has to begin somewhere–and for those in states that have passed right to read legislation that can be bulked up, here’s an opportunity to consider where and how that could happen.

The following is from children’s book authors Padma Venkatraman and Jeanette Bradley, co-leaders of Rhode Island Authors Against Book Bans.

***

Rhode Island Authors Against Book Bans met for the first time in June 2024. Most of us had never called our state legislators before, let alone testified at the Statehouse or run a grassroots advocacy campaign. But we realized we needed to take action to protect our work from the rising tide of censorship. We have learned so much over the past year, working as part of the Rhode Island Freedom to Read Coalition. These are our takeaways:

Focus on one achievable goal at a level where you can effect change.

All of us have had the experience of feeling overwhelmed with the world’s problems after reading or watching the news. The way to move beyond anxiety is to choose one specific goal that is within your capacity to achieve within a set time frame. Right now, we have little power to protect free speech rights at the federal level, but depending on where we live, we can create safe harbors with policy changes at the state or local level. 

Big umbrellas make strong movements.

Freedom of speech can not be protected by libraries alone. Educators, students, authors, illustrators, publishers, journalists, booksellers, and most importantly, readers are all directly affected by censorship. The more stakeholders who are involved, the more likely an effort is to succeed. 

A coalition is the coming together of distinct groups, who may be opposed on some issues,  to work for a common purpose. The lack of central command can be messy, but within the tension and chaos lies the power of coalition. In the words of Lilla Watson, “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Rhode Island’s Freedom to Read coalition united publishers, authors, and the RI Library Association – formerly at odds over ebook pricing – on the existential issue of our right to do the work we do, engaging freely in public conversation through the production and exchange of ideas. 

The personal story is powerful.

Legislators are greeted with a firehose of complaints and demands every time they open their inboxes. Many told us that they get so many form emails that they lose their impact, but that if they get a handful of personal snail mail letters or a couple of personal phone calls from constituents about an issue, they see it as something the people they represent really care about. 

In the smallest state in the country, we helped people write 4,750 postcards to their legislators sharing personal stories about why protecting freedom of speech was important to them. We hosted postcard events at libraries, churches, book clubs, community events, and bars. We helped people who had never written an elected official do so for the first time.  We discovered that most Millennial and Gen Z voters had never written a postcard before, and needed help placing the address in the right place. We found that postcard writing empowered and energized people, and that they left our events filled with hope.

Meet people where they are.

We learned that effective advocacy takes many voices, perspectives, and approaches. Hundreds of people helped with the Rhode Island Freedom to Read effort, with everything from legal expertise, to artmaking, to chipping in with postcard stamps or book donations. 

Many introverts went outside of their comfort zones and testified at the statehouse or called their legislators for the first time as part of this effort. We worked to support these folks with concrete, practical advice from people who had done it before: where to park, how to enter the  Statehouse, how to write an effective three-minute testimony. And we showed up to support each other. 

It’s not a sprint – or a marathon.

The process of building our coalition and helping the Rhode Island Freedom to Read Act become law wasn’t linear. Some of our coalition efforts were wildly successful, others not so much. Key advocates had to drop out for periods of time, and others picked up the effort in their absence.  

The work to protect freedom of speech is not a sprint, but it is also not a marathon run by one person on a linear path.  It is an unending cross-country scramble. But – it is a relay race.  None of us can succeed in this work alone.  To sustain this effort over the long term, we must pass the baton. 

Let us work together, to protect freedom of speech for all.

Children’s book authors Padma Venkatraman and Jeanette Bradley are co-leaders of Rhode Island Authors Against Book Bans. Working with dozens of other organizations as part of the Rhode Island Freedom to Read coalition, they successfully advocated for the passage of the Rhode Island Freedom to Read Act, the first state legislation in the U.S. to encode standing for authors as parties harmed by censorship. 

Padma Venkatraman is the author of The Bridge Home, Born Behind Bars, A Time to Dance, Island’s End and Climbing the Stairs which have sold over ¼ million copies, received over 20 starred reviews, and won numerous awards: Walter Dean Myers Award, South Asia Book Award, Golden Kite, ALA Notable etc. Her poetry has been published in Poetry Magazine and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Padma loves teaching and sharing her love for reading and writing with others, and her doctorate in oceanography inspired her latest novel, Safe Harbor, which School Library Journal described as a must-read, in a starred review. Visit her author website (padmavenkatraman.com) for free resources or arrange a visit via her speaking agency, The Author Village.

Jeanette Bradley is the author and illustrator of Something Great and Love, Mama, and co-editor and illustrator of the nonfiction poetry anthologies No Voice Too Small, No World Too Big, and No Brain The Same. Her books have won the Green Earth Book Award, the Social Justice Literature Award, and have been finalists for the Cybils and the Kids Choice Book Awards.   Jeanette lives in Rhode Island. Visit her website at jeanettebradley.com.

Book Censorship News: November 21, 2025

• Missouri courts just killed the law that prosecuted school employees for providing “sexually explicit materials” to students and led to untold numbers of book bans. This is huge and positive news.
• The book The State of Water: Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource was banned by the Trump administration from sales at Yosemite National Park (CA).
• Maryland has an anti-book ban law, and the state board of education enforced it last week by demanding that Harford County Schools un-ban the book Flamer. Now, the school district is appealing that call so they can re-ban it.
• It wasn’t just Rutherford County Libraries (TN) that got letters from the Secretary of State demanding they remove books. 181 Tennessee libraries got them.
• Arroyo Grande High School Library (CA) is the latest target of demands to remove books by the vocal minority. The books being challenged in the high school are Push and Gender Queer. The review committee read and opted to keep them, but for two parents, that’s not good enough.
• Remember the story about OnShelf by BookmarkED, the educational technology company cashing in big on book bans? Here’s another story about them.
• West Shore School District Board (PA) saw some of its extremist members voted out in the recent election, so of course, the folks who won’t be there much longer are trying to push through book ban and bathroom ban policies. There’s a reason they were voted out.
• “The Alabama Public Library Service Board has withheld over $22,000 in state funding from the Fairhope Public Library, intensifying a public dispute over book accessibility. Since March, the board has withheld funds following complaints that the library provided sexually inappropriate books to teenagers. The library disputes these claims and has received strong community support.” Sigh.
• The Elizabethtown Area school board president (PA) questions students who came to speak to the board about the impact banned books have on their education. As if students getting the education aren’t the experts on the impact a radical right board is having on what they are–and are not–allowed to learn.
• Frank Strong’s recap of the outcomes in Texas school board elections is more than worthwhile reading. The last several elections have made it clear that people don’t want book bans.
• Michigan republicans really want to change school board elections so that candidates have to declare a party. This is so they don’t have to think or consider what candidates bring to the table. They just need to push “r.”
• The Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse reports that two Washington County, Oregon, libraries dealt with challenges this year.
• “Tennessee high school students failed to convince a federal judge to stop the ongoing removal of numerous banned books from their school library shelves as their First Amendment case against a public school district proceeds.” In less great news from the court system, book bans in Tennessee schools can continue. Teen plaintiffs in this one were from Rutherford County, which you may recall was where public libraries shut down to ban books that the Secretary of State (and that library’s board) didn’t like.
• Christian County Library (MO) has finally wiped any and all references and resources related to the largest professional association for librarians, the American Library Association, from its library, policies, and procedures. So that’s great. Conspiracy theorists with no expertise win.
• Some bigoted parents in Mountain Iron-Buhl Public Schools (MN) are mad the school hired someone who fled Florida because of its politics…and because this teacher has a nonprofit that helps get banned books to kids. This paper is right-leaning and relies on “sources” that are right-leaning. It’s worth sharing because 1. this is really likely happening and 2. this is where and how such parents get their ideas.
• Peoria Unified School District (AZ) just passed a “No DEI Initiatives” policy, so expect book purges here.
• Lexington Public Schools (MA) have been sued by a parent, who alleges their rights were violated because of LGBTQ+ books being in their child’s elementary school (same sex parents were a step too much for this bigot). Yes, they’re claiming they have rights to do so under the Supreme Court’s Mahmoud vs. Taylor decision–which again, only applies to the parents in Montgomery County, Maryland.
• How the right uses “gender ideology” to blame trans people for everything.
• Daviess County Public Library Board (TN) drafted new policy related to books they’ll ban from youth sections in the library. It’s “very narrow,” which weirdly, is still censorship.
• Texas may become the first state to have a mandated list of books that students have to read in K-12 schools. In theory, a good idea. In a state practicing book bans and making DEI illegal, it’ll be a list of very limited scope. . . and likely will find people complaining about it and getting those books wiped, too.
• How right-wing funded and fueled “parents rights” groups are creating hell for educators (and students and the vast majority of parents) in central Maine.
• Effingham County, Georgia, just pulled their public library from a larger system called the Live Oak Public Libraries. This is something we’re seeing pop up elsewhere in the country, with libraries removing themselves from bigger systems to “be independent.” What it really means is that patrons lose out on access to wider collections and, well, access to books that those boards think are inappropriate. The rationale here is “cost,” but the financial costs saved means patrons have less access, making them crankier about the library, making them less likely to support the library, and we know how the rest of the story goes.