ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A new report by PEN America states that Maryland ties for ninth place for the number of books banned in public school environments. PEN America’s slogan is “Freedom to Write,” reflecting its goals of protecting freedom of speech in education and beyond.
The report found 10,046 instances where books were banned in U.S. schools during the 2023-2024 school year. Across all schools, more than 4,000 books were banned last year. During the 2021-2022 school year, only 2,532 books were banned nationwide, signaling a significant increase in the rate of banning media.
Although PEN America reports that Florida banned the most books in 2023-2024 with over 4,500, Maryland also ranks high, tied with North Carolina for the ninth-most book bans in the United States. A total of 64 unique books were banned from Maryland schools.
PEN America states on its website, “In this school year, a greater percentage of books faced more severe bans in 2023-2024 than in previous school years, completely removed from district library collections.”
As school libraries across America ban thousands of books, many states are pushing back, while others embrace increased state-level control over school systems.
However, not all Maryland lawmakers support book bans in public education. Signed by Gov. Wes Moore in April 2024, the Freedom to Read Act makes it more difficult to ban books in public education by requiring each school system to follow a process when attempting to ban a book, which helps prevent bans due to partisan issues.
On the Maryland General Assembly website, the synopsis for the Freedom to Read Act states, “Establishing a state policy that local school systems operate their school library media programs consistent with certain standards; requiring each local school system to develop a policy and procedures to review objections to materials in a school library media program; prohibiting a county board of education from dismissing, demoting, suspending, disciplining, reassigning, transferring, or otherwise retaliating against certain school library media program personnel for performing their job duties consistent with certain standards.”
In an interview with former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the MSNBC YouTube channel, Gov. Moore spoke about his opposition to book bans in public school systems. He explained that he believes book bans targeting African American topics can be harmful and are intended to prevent teaching young students information that would help minorities better understand their history.
Proponents of book bans often argue that their goal is to avoid teaching sensitive subjects at young ages, which typically include African American history and LGBTQ+ topics. Books containing sexual content are also banned occasionally. PEN reports that 57% of books banned in the United States contain some form of sexual content, while 39% feature LGBTQ+ characters.
Works by lesser-known authors are not the only media being banned. Widely known books are also being removed from schools. In Florida, The Handmaid’s Tale is a commonly banned piece of literature in public school libraries, among other popular titles.
Regardless of public perception on the issue, banning books in public schools is a trend that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. However, many states that oppose the practice are fighting back, including Maryland. To learn more about book bans in the U.S., visit the PEN America website.
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Shame on you Maryland!