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PEN America Reports Nearly 12,000 Books Banned in US Schools

Original: From PEN America: "Nearly 12,000 (11,982) books were banned in public schools during the 2025-2026 school year... impact

PEN America reports that nearly 12,000 books — 11,982 — were banned in US public schools during the 2025-2026 school year, affecting the work of more than 4,000 authors, illustrators and translators. Over 4,500 of the banned titles had not previously appeared in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans, suggesting the restrictions are widening. Readers are sharing the figures with alarm about censorship in education.

Why now: The newly released PEN America figures document a sharp escalation in school book bans, drawing widespread reaction.

PEN AmericaUS public schools

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• From PEN America: "Nearly 12,000 (11,982) books were banned in public schools during the 2025-2026 school year... impacting the creative works of over 4,000 authors, illustrators and translators. Over 4,500 of these were titles not previously recorded in PEN America’s Index of… · kma500@sfba.social · 8

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