Over the past year, some parents and activists have attempted to ban books about race, gender, and sexuality from classrooms and school libraries, sparking and .
A new, nationally representative survey of educators sheds some light on how common these book censorship requests are鈥攁nd which subjects are most frequently challenged. The EdWeek Research Center surveyed 1,200 teachers, principals, and district leaders in the second half of December.
Over the past three years, almost two-thirds of school and district leaders have not fielded any requests to ban or remove books, the survey found. But 16 percent of school and district leaders say the number of requests to ban books has increased since 2019, while just 2 percent say they have decreased. (Nineteen percent said there鈥檚 been no change.)
Books with LGBTQ characters or issues topped the list of reported challenges, with nearly half of school and district leaders who reported book ban requests saying they鈥檝e had somebody ask to remove or ban books of that nature. Other frequently challenged subjects include sex and sexuality that is not violent or abusive, critical race theory, ethnicity/race, racial inequities, gender, and non-traditional family structures.
Suburban administrators are more likely to say book censorship requests have been on the rise than their peers in rural or urban districts. Additionally, more than 1 in 3 administrators in districts with 10,000 or more students report that the number of book ban requests has increased over the last three years. Only 8 percent of administrators in districts with less than 2,500 students reported the same.
The EdWeek Research Center survey results are in line with the American Library Association鈥檚 annual list of the top 10 most challenged books in K-12 schools, colleges, and libraries.
In 2020, the most recent year for which the ALA has data, the novel Melissa by Alex Gino鈥攑reviously published as 骋别辞谤驳别鈥� for its depiction of a young transgender girl. The list was otherwise dominated by books about racism, including: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, a middle-grades adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi鈥檚 book about the history of racist ideas in America; All American Boys, a young adult novel that follows the perspectives of both a Black and a white teen after a racist incident of police violence; and Something Happened in Our Town: A Child鈥檚 Story About Racial Injustice, a children鈥檚 book about the aftermath of a police shooting of a Black man.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association鈥檚 Office for Intellectual Freedom, said that there has been an 鈥渦nprecedented volume of challenges鈥� to books in fall 2021. Those challenges are largely against materials that focus on LGBTQ issues and books by Black authors or that document the experience of people of color, according to the ALA.
鈥淚n my 20 years with ALA, I can鈥檛 recall a time when we had multiple challenges coming in on a daily basis,鈥� Caldwell-Stone said.
Critical race theory is cited in many of the complaints, experts say, even if the content in the book has little to do with the academic framework, which posits that racism isn鈥檛 just the product of individual bias but is embedded in legal systems and government policies. Over the past year, 13 states have restricted teaching about critical race theory or how teachers can discuss race and gender in class.
Even though most districts haven鈥檛 seen overt challenges, the national climate 鈥渃ould create a chilling effect where teachers stick to what they鈥檝e always taught because they perceive it鈥檒l be an easier pathway, there will be less resistance, and that鈥檚 such a loss to society, to students, and to teachers,鈥� Emily Kirkpatrick, the executive director for the National Council of Teachers of English, told EdWeek in September.
Yet the EdWeek Research Center survey results show that 57 percent of teachers and 63 percent of principals, along with slightly less than half of district leaders, can come up with a topic they think should be banned from books in their districts鈥� libraries and classrooms.
Sexual violence or abuse is the topic teachers, principals, and district leaders are most likely to say should be banned, followed by white power/nationalism and critical race theory. Seventeen percent of educators say that books featuring LGBTQ characters or issues should not be allowed in schools.
Education experts say that children should have access to diverse books that serve as 鈥�"鈥攖hey should expose readers to new worlds and perspectives while also reflecting readers鈥� own experiences.
