California District Reverses Controversial Book Ban | KSRO
The Windsor (CA) Unified School District has reversed its controversial ban on the dystopian novel Scythe by Neal Shusterman, officially clearing the book for high school English classes.

According to the Press Democrat, the board originally rejected the novel in December over concerns about its violent themes, sparking a wave of censorship complaints from local students and parents.

The unanimous vote to reinstate the book came after the district identified Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World as a viable alternative for families who wish to opt out.

Stephen King Book Banned in All Utah Public Schools | Q106.5
Bag of Bones by Stephen King was officially banned from all Utah public schools after the Davis, Granite, Jordan, and Tooele county school districts removed the novel from their shelves. It is the 23rd book removed from all Utah public schools.

The decision comes just over a month after a group of bestselling authors filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing the sensitive materials law used to ban the books is unconstitutional.

To Protest Utah’s Book Bans, More Than 300 Pack into Capitol Rotunda To Read | The Salt Lake Tribune
Free speech advocates and local organizers gathered at Let Utah Read’s annual “read-in” event. The statewide coalition, which includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, EveryLibrary, and others, works to defend “the freedom to read,” according to its website.

Florida House Approves a Change to a Controversial Law That Banned Books in School Libraries | CBS News
The Florida House approved a measure that includes a definition of “materials harmful to minors” in a controversial 2023 Florida law that led to books being removed from school libraries.

The bill (HB 1119), approved in an 84–28 mostly party-line vote in the Republican-controlled chamber, considers any representation of “nudity, sexual conduct, or sexual excitement” as harmful when it appeals to any “prurient, shameful, or morbid interest” and is “patently offensive to prevailing standards.”

Three Texas Districts Temporarily Blocked from Complying with Key Parts of Texas’s DEI Ban | Houston Public Media
A federal court has temporarily blocked the Houston, Katy, and Plano school districts from enforcing key parts of a state law that bans diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in K–12 public schools.

In a lawsuit filed last year, attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Transgender Law Center argued that SB 12 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the Equal Access Act.

U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge ruled February 20 that the three districts must avoid compliance with four major provisions of Senate Bill 12, including a ban on student clubs that focus on sexual orientation or gender identity and a mandate that schools design policies to discipline employees who engage in diversity-related efforts.

Eskridge’s ruling only applies to the three districts named in the lawsuit.

Iowa Senators Advance Bill Removing Obscenity Law Protections from Schools and Libraries | Iowa Public Radio
An Iowa Senate subcommittee has advanced a bill that would remove protections in state obscenity laws for schools and libraries. Current law broadly exempts educational and library materials from obscenity claims.

Supporters of the bill say libraries would face more accountability for what they put on their shelves. Opponents say libraries do not carry obscene books, but deleting the exemption would expose libraries to frivolous lawsuits from people targeting certain books they consider inappropriate.

Controversial Library Book Policy Bill Clears First Reading in Wyoming House | Wyoming Tribune Eagle
The Wyoming House of Representatives advanced a controversial bill that some say would ban books and restrict parental rights while others argue it is for the good of the state and its youth.

The legislation, House Bill 10, titled “Sexually explicit materials in libraries-requirements,” seeks to regulate how books with graphic sexual content are housed and challenged in the state’s public and school libraries.

The bill has been the focal point of intense scrutiny for months as it was discussed and debated in detail over the interim. It defines “sexually explicit material” through a six-point list of specific acts, including depictions of sexual penetration, oral sex, and other sexual contact. Under the proposal, these materials must be removed from “children's sections,” which are areas primarily aimed at those under 18, and relocated to adult sections.

Michigan District Has 616 Books Flagged as “Inappropriate” by Advocacy Group | MLive
One Michigan school district has almost twice as many books flagged as “inappropriate” as other districts across the state, according to an advocacy group that targets material deemed unsuitable for kids.

Ann Arbor Public Schools tops the list in the number of “books found,” at 616, with Take Back the Classroom, an initiative from the Capitol Resource Institute (CRI).

As of Friday, February 13, there are 20,962 books listed in 1,792 districts statewide. The district with the next highest number is Plymouth-Canton Community Schools at 360.

Tennessee Public Library Shares Plans for Challenged Books | 39 News
Many books at the library have been challenged due to their dive into the territories of “gender identity,” “LGBTQIA+,” and other subjects deemed inappropriate.

39 News spoke with Jackson-Madison County (TN) Library director Dinah Harris about the library’s plans for the challenged stories.

“We don’t plan to ban any books. We may move a book from one section to another based on age appropriateness, so...what we’re currently doing is just looking at books to see if they’re appropriate for the age section.

“We have a children’s section, we have a teen section, and we have an adult section, so we’re just making sure that books are in their age-appropriate section, but we don’t ban books.”