Number of nonfiction books banned in schools has doubled, report says

Key Points:

• PEN America reported that over 3,500 unique titles were removed from U.S. school classrooms and libraries in the 2024-2025 school year, with nearly 30% being nonfiction books, marking more than double the previous year's rate of nonfiction censorship.
• The organization linked the rise in nonfiction book bans to a broader societal trend of anti-intellectualism, characterized by skepticism and devaluation of experts, and connected these bans to political movements, particularly those involving LGBTQ rights.
• The report highlighted that 44% of banned books featured characters or people of color, and 57% contained themes of non-sexual violence; educational titles banned increased significantly from 5% to 13% of total banned books.
• PEN America noted that recent U.S. House bills, such as the "Stop the Sexualization of Children Act" and the "PROTECT Kids Act," reflect and potentially escalate the book-banning crisis by restricting access to certain materials and gender-related content in schools.
• Legal challenges continue, with the U.S. Supreme Court declining to hear a case on book removals in Texas libraries, and the ACLU successfully suing the Trump administration to restore banned books in Department of Defense schools, indicating ongoing disputes over censorship policies.