Florida Court Rejects Free Speech Argument in Book Removal Case | New York Times
A district court in Florida ruled that the Escambia County, FL, school board had not violated the First Amendment rights of students or authors when it removed a children’s book from its school libraries called And Tango Makes Three, which is about two male penguins raising a penguin chick.

The lawsuit was brought by the picture book’s authors, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, and an elementary school student who was identified by the initials B.G. The suit maintained that Escambia removed the book because it disagreed with its viewpoint, a decision which infringed on their free speech rights.

In its defense, Escambia said that a library collection was a form of government speech, which meant it was entitled to curate the collection as it saw fit, and that the authors did not have a right to have their book included. Escambia also argued that the plaintiffs could not prove the board removed the book based on viewpoint discrimination.

Judge Allen Winsor, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, ruled in Escambia’s favor, but leaned on a different argument. He said that a school library is not a public forum for expressing opinions, so the author’s First Amendment rights were not violated. Removing the book from its collection also did not keep it from the student who sued, the judge said, because the student could still buy the book or borrow it from a friend.

And Tango Makes Three Authors Appeal Judge’s Ruling on Escambia Schools Pulling Book | WUSF
Attorneys for the book’s authors and a student quickly appealed a federal judge’s ruling that rejected a First Amendment challenge to a 2023 decision by the Escambia County (FL) School Board to remove the book And Tango Makes Three from school libraries.

SC Public School Librarians, Students File Lawsuit to Block Book Ban | WSPA
The South Carolina Association of School Librarians and students filed a lawsuit to block the enforcement of a state book ban regulation and a classroom censorship memo.

The lawsuit targets the State Superintendent of Education and Greenville County Schools, arguing that the regulation and memo are too vague and infringe on students’ rights.

As Book Bans Decline, Concerns Mount Over Librarian and Teacher Self-Censoring | The Hill
The fight against book bans is entering a new phase, as the number of bans plummets but concerns grow that librarians and teachers, looking to stay out of the fray, are self-censoring.  

Data shows a surprising and significant drop in book challenges from the 2023–24 school year to the 2024–25 term after years of increases in bans among classrooms and libraries.   

Instead, advocates trying to protect the right to read are now not only battling banned books in the courts but looking to provide legislative protections to officials who fear retaliation based on the titles picked for students. 

Coloradans Will Soon Be Able to Carry a Library of Banned Books Right in Their Pockets—Free of Charge | CPR News
Anythink Libraries, which serves residents in Adams County, CO, is launching free digital access to roughly 300 banned and challenged titles and documents for anyone in the state.

Tug of War Over What Books NC Schoolchildren Can Read | Carolina Public Press
Parent groups are concerned by books in North Carolina school libraries that may not fit their idea of U.S. values. Academic experts seek a more nuanced approach.

“Now a kid might get in trouble”: This state takes book bans to new level | The Washington Post [via MSN]
In addition to banning over a dozen books from school libraries and classrooms six months ago, the Utah State Board of Education is now prohibiting students from bringing their own copies of those books into the building, The Washington Post reports.

Florida’s Culled Library Book List May Be an “Undercount,” Critics Say | Tampa Bay Times
Following a summer in which library book removals dominated the discourse in local school districts, an annual list released by the state offered little clarity on how widespread those removals really are.

No books in Pasco, Pinellas, or Hillsborough county were removed in response to objections raised by parents or members of the public during the 2024–25 school year, according to the report. But some watching closely are concerned that the list is misleading.

The report only includes books removed by a school board’s decision. It does not include books that were removed in some libraries by review committees after more than 600 books were placed on review; or, in the case of Hillsborough County, the 55 books removed by Superintendent Van Ayres this June, for example.

Minnesota District Pulling and Reviewing Library Book Some Suggest is Racist | Valley News Live
Moorhead (MN) Area Public Schools officials have pulled a book from the library at Horizon Middle School West that some are finding inappropriate and racist. An issue was raised on social media about the book entitled Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham.

Texas District Bans More Than 700 Books from Its Libraries Before Start of 2025–26 School Year | Houston Chronicle [via Yahoo!]
More than 700 books have been banned from Lamar Consolidated ISD libraries for the 2025–26 school year, including titles such as Pinkalicious, Paperbag Princess, and The Bluest Eye.

Since January 2024, the 46,600-student school district in Rosenberg, TX, has removed more than 280 books, according to a public information request obtained by the Texas Freedom to Read Project. Another 476 titles are currently under review, some of which have yet to be procured by the district and have been put on a do not purchase list.