Banned Books

The Florida Department of Education sent a memo to district superintendents and charter school leaders in September, reminding them that school boards are responsible for the materials available to students.

A new study from PEN America reveals that there were nearly 12,000 book bans in public schools over the past year, the highest since tracking began five years ago. Stephen King remains the most banned author for the second year. Many bans occur in Florida and Texas, where restrictive laws and political pressure have increased removals.

Republican attorneys general from 21 states are trying to help sway a federal appeals court to uphold a 2023 Florida law that led to books being removed from school libraries.

Miami activist Iris Mogul tells WLRN about what first inspired her to start a banned books club, what keeps her motivated, and how she’s continuing to stand up for free speech and access to literature in schools.

The Escambia County School Board has spent nearly $1 million on legal fees to keep certain books out of school libraries.

On "The Florida Roundup," we dive into the debate regarding school book removals across the Sunshine State.

Iris Mogul, who is currently a freshman at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been named Youth Honorary Chair for the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week 2025, which began Sunday and runs through Saturday.

The state had more than 2,300 titles taken off shelves last school year, according to data released by PEN America, an organization fighting against the law enabling book challenges.

When a junior at an Orange County public high school in Florida visited the school library to check out a copy of “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac, it wasn’t in its Dewey decimal system-assigned location. It turns out the title had been removed from the library’s shelves because of a complaint, and in compliance with Florida House Bill 1069, it had been removed from the library indefinitely.

A federal judge has ruled that a key part of a 2023 Florida law that led to books being removed from school libraries is "overbroad and unconstitutional."

The state’s motion, in part, said the “selection of public-school library books is government speech and therefore not subject to the First Amendment.”

FIU artist and professor Dimitry Saïd Chamy explores book bans, media consumption and literature in The Unreading Room — along with his own love of reading and history.