Stop NY Book Bans: NYCLU Launches Pledge To Fight Classroom Censorship

NEW YORK – Today, to mark the beginning of Banned Books Week, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) launched a statewide pledge for students, parents, and concerned New Yorkers to demand that their school districts protect students’ First Amendment rights and fight classroom censorship. This comes as school districts across the country — including here in New York — face immense pressure to ban books and purge libraries.

“Across New York, efforts to ban books about race, gender equality, and LGBTQ rights are on the rise — New York is not immune to the national book banning movement,” said Emma Hulse, Skadden Fellow in the Education Policy Center at the NYCLU. “Removing books by marginalized authors or those that dive into race and racism threaten students’ First Amendment rights, make it impossible for schools to develop fully informed, well-rounded citizens, and puts our democracy at risk. With this pledge, New Yorkers can help ensure that our schools remain vibrant, inclusive places where ideas are openly disseminated, discussed, and debated — not sites of censorship that limit access to knowledge and diversity of thought.”

NYCLU’s pledge calls on school districts statewide to adopt the NYCLU’s model policy, which outlines what districts should do when a book is “challenged” for possible removal. School districts must:

• Provide clear, transparent guidelines for how library books should be selected and how those books can be challenged;
• Include educators, parents, and students in all reviews of book challenges and honors the professional judgment of librarians;
• Create a clear timeline for the review process; and,
• Forbid removal of materials before the review process is complete.

“We all deserve the chance to explore new ideas, ask hard questions, and hash out difficult themes — that’s what school is all about,” said Cassandra Levinson, a high school senior in the NYCLU’s Teen Activist Project.“Depriving us of the opportunity to broaden our minds goes against everything schools should be doing. We’re there to learn and grow — not consume information that suits a specific political agenda. To anyone worried about young people’s futures or who wants to join the fight against banned books: please sign the pledge today.”

Several New York school districts are already facing calls to ban books, including in Westchester, Monroe, Wayne, Rockland, Putnam, and Dutchess counties. Many of the books in question are about race or racism, feature people of color, or include LGBTQ characters.