PEN America Reports Five-Year Peak in School Book Bans
School book bans reached a five-year peak during the 2025-2026 school year nationwide, according to the nonprofit PEN America.
Minneapolis St. Paul, MN, October 16, 2026 —
School book bans reached a five-year peak nationwide during the 2025-2026 school year, according to the nonprofit PEN America. The summary of the finding does not provide a total number of bans or explain how the organization defined or counted them.
It also does not identify the schools, districts, states, or books involved. No reasons for the bans, information about who requested or made the decisions, or details about how the figure compares with earlier school years were provided. The trend summary does not specify when PEN America released the finding or identify a report containing further details.
The five-year comparison indicates that the reported level was the highest in that period, but the available information does not show the size of the increase or whether the trend was consistent across the country. It also does not clarify whether the count refers to individual titles, separate decisions, or another measure. Those details are not included in the summary.
As a result, the information establishes the reported peak and its stated time frame, but not the scale or distribution of the bans. Further specifics—including the underlying count, the organization’s methodology and the locations affected—were not provided. No additional claims about the causes or effects of the reported trend can be made from the information available here.
Story summarized from the original created by Kevin.Miller@fox.com (Kevin Miller) on www.fox9.com, see more information here.
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