Protect Students’ Right to Read

The freedom to read – one of our most essential and cherished rights as Americans – is under attack. Since July 2021, PEN America has recorded 22,810 cases of book bans across 45 states and 451 public school districts. New York is no exception:challenges to books – particularly books about LGBTQIA+ people – have proliferated across the state, in some cases leading to permanent removals. While some communities have successfully fought back against book bans and restored books to library shelves, at least one New York court has questioned longstanding Supreme Court precedent that forbids viewpoint discrimination in library book removals.

The Freedom to Read Act aims to address this crisis by codifying students’ right to read and ensuring that school districts have fair, rigorous protocols for evaluating challenges to library materials.