2025 Book Censorship Wrapped: Trends, Challenges, and Successes Over The Year

The Florida Freedom to Read Project reports over 5,000 censorship attempts in Florida public schools in 2025. PEN America reports 23,000 cases of banning in public schools since 2021. The American Library Association reports 47,162 books banned and challenged in schools and libraries from 1990 to 2024.

We all track different aspects of the movement, but no matter how you look at it, book bans are sweeping across the country.

The trends that underpin the book banning crisis point to more harm, more bans, more attacks on public education and the young people across this country. It’s happening through two primary pathways – overcompliance with censorship-driven laws and policies and the proliferation of soft-censorship techniques.

Let’s dive into these trends that are impacting Texas, Florida, and beyond.

George Takei speaks at a Brooklyn Public Library Event for Banned Books Week 2025. Photo by Gregg Richards.

Proliferation of Soft-Censorship Techniques

The Undercount of Book Bans

Government-sanctioned censorship and book banning across America has become nearly impossible to count accurately. That’s why so many of our estimates and reports come with the caveat that the actual number is almost certainly higher than what we can verify. Collecting accurate data is challenging for a myriad of reasons, and these challenges vary in each community. What remains consistent, however, is that most school districts and public libraries do not make this information readily available. In many cases, the only way to uncover documentation is through the time-consuming and often costly process of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Public Information/Records Requests (PIR/PRR). Even then, many removals happen quietly and in secret, leaving no easily discoverable record at all.

Take Texas as an example. The state has more than 1,200 school districts and over 1000 public and academic libraries across the state. To get a semi-accurate statewide count of challenged or banned books, we would need to file more than 2,200 FOIA or PIR requests—each to a different system, with its own forms, workflows, and requirements. It is, for all practical purposes, nearly impossible. Where information is available, we have evidence that some libraries are banning books by the hundreds, while others are removing dozens at a time.

The work of documenting censorship is not only arduous and resource-intensive; it also depends on the courage of citizens, educators, and librarians who are willing to speak up when something is wrong. Their willingness to sound the alarm is often the only reason this information comes to light.

Preemptive Bans

In addition to book removals, school districts have also started issuing preemptive bans through ‘do not buy’ lists, barring titles from entering libraries and prohibiting specific titles from being purchased or accepted as donations, regardless of whether students express a need or interest in reading them. Books targeted by this censorship often reflect statewide laws and lists. 

In Florida, broadly worded laws and strict state rules—threatening certification loss, criminal charges, and other penalties—have created a chilling effect. One law requires the state’s Department of Education to publish an annual list of every book removed from school libraries so that other districts can follow suit. Even though most of the parents in Florida do not want censorship in their children’s libraries (more than half the state’s districts have had no formal objections and over 95% of students face no parental restrictions on their library access), many Florida school districts still treat specific titles, especially ones that have appeared on the state’s list, as off-limits in school or classroom libraries – meaning they must be removed and cannot be purchased in the future without the local school board’s approval.

We often think about book bans and censorship in terms of removals, but across the country, there is a growing trend toward acquisition bans. We’re seeing policies that block specific themes, topics, or ideas before books are ever purchased for library shelves. These policies prevent access at the front end, quietly shaping collections long before the public ever sees them.

One example is Keller ISD in Texas, which has adopted a collection development policy with a content guidelines rubric that includes a blanket ban on any books containing “discussion or depiction of gender fluidity.”At the state level, the Texas Legislature just passed SB 13, which requires school districts to post proposed library purchase lists online for 30 days before any books can be bought. During that period, members of the public may review the lists and submit feedback or challenges, effectively opening the door to objections and censorship before materials are acquired at all.

Malicious Misuse of the Word “Weeding”

Book banners are purposely misusing the word “weeding” to describe their censorship efforts. Weeding is a standard practice in libraries, where old, damaged, outdated, or under-circulated books are removed from collections. Weeding books based on viewpoints, perspectives, and ideologies is censorship, pure and simple, and it goes against library expertise and practice. Even as ALA’s code of ethics and Bill of Rights decry viewpoint-based book removal as going against the goal and purpose of libraries, people trying to take away the freedom to read are calling their practices “weeding.” It can be challenging to monitor this tactic, but there are cases where a set of “weeded” books includes a slate of surprising titles, such as numerous popular or recently published titles that contain frequently-targeted themes, like diverse representation or sex-related content. 

One recent example of the malicious use of “weeding” occurred in Victoria, Texas. A small group calling itself the Victoria Parents’ Book Coalition petitioned the local public library and submitted a list of 100 books (color-coded by complaint) with a request that “the Victoria Public Library of Victoria, Texas, remove books from the children’s section of the library that promote radical gender ideology, critical race theory, COVID misinformation, or a combination of the three.” Less than two weeks later, 45 of those titles had been “weeded” and removed from the collection. The rapid removal of nearly half of the requested titles demonstrates how easily the weeding process can be leveraged to achieve ideological goals while maintaining the appearance of routine policy compliance.

The use of AI to Ban Books

Across Texas, another troubling new pattern is emerging: school districts, unsure how to bring their library collections into compliance with laws such as HB 900, SB 12, and SB 13, are relying on AI to figure it out for them. These laws are broad, vague, and in many ways, unworkable. Districts know they must be in compliance, and they’re desperate to avoid becoming the target of angry legislators or political groups eager to accuse educators and librarians of trying to harm or indoctrinate students. Due to this confusion, some districts have begun copying and pasting the text of the laws, along with lists of the books in their catalogs, into AI tools and asking the AI to determine which titles could violate the laws. And of course, every district ends up with different answers. That’s not surprising when the laws are written vaguely; the AI isn’t professionally trained to understand books the way librarians are and rarely has access to the full text of the books. It can only pull from what’s online, which usually means banned-book lists and reviews from non-experts, often written by people with an agenda to censor. Given that trends in one state often start popping up in others, it is only a matter of time before this spreads beyond Texas.

Texas FReadom Fighter Carolyn Foote (left) with Texas Freedom to Read co-founder Laney Hawes attended a press conference and rally at the Texas state capitol in May to defend public libraries. Image courtesy of the Texas Freedom to Read Project.

Overcompliance with Censorship-Driven Laws and Policies

State-Sanctioned Censorship

State-sanctioned censorship is on the rise, as states like South Carolina and Utah have implemented mechanisms for banning books in schools across their respective school districts. In 2024, Utah and South Carolina introduced processes to create state-mandated “no read” lists. Tennessee also enacted such a mechanism in 2024; however, it has not been used. 

Utah officials passed a law that puts books on a “no read” list after they’ve been banned in any three of the state’s school districts (or two school districts and five charter schools) to trigger a statewide ban. Nineteen titles are currently on the state’s “no read” list. There are 41 public school districts in Utah and over 100 public charter schools, but two schools are responsible for over 80% of the bans. Each of Utah’s 19 titles was banned at least three times before being added to the “no read” list (totaling 54 bans). If each of these 19 titles were available in each of these 41 districts, and subsequently banned, that would amount to an astonishing 779 bans overall. 

In South Carolina, the State Board of Education can decide to ban books statewide without even reading them. Once books are listed on the state’s “no read” list, they become prohibited in all school districts. South Carolina has 81 school districts. That means that the 22 unique titles were banned at least 22 times; however, if they were present in every district and subsequently banned, that would result in 1,782 bans across South Carolina. Taken together, the “no read” lists in South Carolina and Utah may have triggered over 2,500 cases of book bans. 

Policies and Laws Driving Censorship

Across the country, we are also seeing changes in policies and laws that either directly call for or create environments of censorship. 

The impact of code changes can be clearly seen in Alabama, where the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) passed an anti-trans, anti-free expression administrative code change. The shift in APLS Administrative Code forces public libraries to relocate or entirely remove “any materials regarding transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders” on the basis that they are “inappropriate” for children and teens. The language in the code change does not define “gender ideology,” a vague term often used as an anti-LGBTQ+ dogwhistle by pro-censorship advocacy groups. This broad language will likely result in any books with trans representation–regardless of their age-relevance–moved to adult sections of public libraries in Alabama.

And where there aren’t specific directives in policies or laws targeting books, their inherent vagueness creates an environment that still leads to the same results. For the 2024-2025 school year, vast numbers of books were removed from shelves — pending investigation and permanently banned — due to fear of repercussions from government officials, school boards, administrators, and educators. Librarians are afraid of getting fired and violent assaults, as they are subject to harassment and threats for doing their jobs. This fear-mongering forces library workers to “obey in advance” of anticipated restrictions from the state or administrative authorities.

Rhode Island intellectual freedom advocates stand by state governor Daniel McKee as he signs the state’s Freedom to Read bill. Photo from Roger Williams University.

Federal-Level Censorship

In 2025, a new vector of book banning pressure has appeared: the federal government. Since returning to office, the Trump Administration has mimicked rhetoric about “parents’ rights”, which, in Florida and other states, has primarily been used to advance book bans and censorship in schools, against the wishes of many parents, students, families, and educators. Under the guise of “returning education to parents,” President Trump has released a series of Executive Orders (EOs) mainly: “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism,” and “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.” These national censorship schemes are using the same rhetoric as state and local efforts to ban books. 

Although none of these EOs directly target books, they were used as justification for the July 2025 removal of almost 600 books from Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools on military bases. State leaders are also trying to adopt EO language to push censorship in their states. In states including Tennessee and Kansas, government officials have sent letters to schools and libraries demanding book reviews in line with Trump EOs. In restricting discussion of transgender people and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and barring schools from “promoting un-American ideas,” books like ABC of Equality by Chana Ewing or several volumes from the series Heartstopper by Alice Oseman were removed from access. Students and their families responded by suing.

The Rise of Threats & Intimidation

Beyond official orders and moves to ban books, a larger chilling effect is sweeping across the country. More and more, local school and library workers and boards are feeling pressure to “obey in advance”, by censoring materials in response to bullying and threatening tactics used by those in positions of power. In some cases, districts or school library decision-makers censor books merely as a reaction to a removal in another school, district, or state, despite a lack of objection to the book or topic in their own community. 

In Florida, state officials focused on one school district’s decision to keep books available until a formal complaint required a review. Instead of respecting the local authority of the Hillsborough County Public School Board to follow their publicly approved policy, the appointed Attorney General and Commissioner of Education each sent a letter to the district threatening penalties unless actions were taken to remove “inappropriate” and “gratuitously pornographic materials” from their collections. Following these letters came a public berating of the Hillsborough Superintendent and mischaracterizations of media specialists at a June State Board of Education meeting, as well as attacks on Twitter/X suggesting that another book must be removed from shelves to avoid a new invitation to appear before the state board. This escalation from the state not only impacted what was available in this district (as 600 titles were pulled from shelves for review), but public records from across the state and changes to other districts’ policies revealed the larger chilling effect stemming from this show of force. The result was the removal of thousands of books from shelves over the summer of 2025.

Nationally, the fear has spread to a variety of public education programming beyond the shelves. Book fairs, book donations, and even scholarships aimed at supporting public education have been challenged or questioned informally. Phantom objections from a presumed viewpoint within the community have been found to carry more weight in this environment than the data that prove a majority want to preserve access whenever possible.

Image from the screening of The Librarians documentary at the American Library Association annual conference in Philadelphia, PA, in June.

Positive Takeaways 

The fight against censorship is far from over. Although 2025 proved to be a challenging year, numerous advocacy groups, publishers, authors, students, teachers, parents, librarians, and everyday citizens accepted the challenge and voiced their support for the freedom to read. While we need to stay informed about the negative trends affecting our libraries, it is also essential to highlight the ways we defended and promoted the freedom to read this year. 

Freedom to Read Legislation

Communities around the country are fighting back against these attacks on the freedom of expression/freedom to read. States across the nation are enacting legal protections for libraries, readers, and people’s stories. This year, lawmakers in Colorado, Delaware, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Vermont passed Right to Read laws that prohibit censorship, safeguard intellectual freedom, and protect library workers and readers in their states. Similar laws are making their way to governors’ desks in New York and Massachusetts. These states followed the lead of states like Oregon, California, Maryland, and New Jersey that passed Right to Read laws in 2024. These laws don’t just codify people’s freedom to read and stop book bans in their state’s public, school, and academic libraries – they also reflect the efforts of communities around the country, who came together in support of libraries and the right to access information. People across the country found joy and community as they came together in support of libraries and stories at rallies, lobbying events, and right to read activities at their local libraries. These legislative efforts reflect the common understanding that libraries are valuable resources that belong to everyone.

Wins in Court

The last several years have seen courts all over the United States uphold the First Amendment in libraries. Time and time again, judges have affirmed the right to read and said that it’s illegal to make political and viewpoint-based decisions about information people can access in their libraries. They’ve also penalized those who harass and threaten librarians. Only one Circuit Court has held otherwise, in an extreme and problematic decision that splits with other federal courts.

Realizing that their efforts to engage in bald censorship won’t win, the few people seeking to limit our rights have turned to weak and confusing legal arguments to try to cram their prejudicial limitations on our First Amendment rights through the Supreme Court. Ignoring well-founded precedent declaring otherwise, a few lawyers are working to convince the Court that libraries are mouthpieces for the government. Leaning on the “government speech doctrine,” several cases continue to argue whether library books represent the messages of government officials. The doctrine is a newfangled legal concept that has only existed since the 90’s, and it’s so tenuous that Samuel Alito warned that it’s “susceptible to dangerous misuse.” Legal practitioners and academics of all stripes have explained, in amicus briefs to the court, that it is especially dangerous to claim that libraries aren’t havens for whatever information you seek but instead, propaganda centers where the government decides what information you see.

Wins in Communities and Elections

Communities are rejecting censorship and the political operatives who support it. Thousands of people stood up for libraries and the freedom to read in the 2025 election cycle. In Texas, candidates pushing censorship agendas lost in school districts across the state, including Klein ISD, Houston ISD, and Princeton ISD. These wins didn’t just reflect a desire to support intellectual freedom in school libraries; they also reflected a rejection of Senate Bill 13, a new Texas law that is leading to book removals in school libraries. In Pennsylvania, communities tired of book ban attempts in their school districts flipped school board seats in favor of candidates who champion the freedom to read. Voters across the country are getting tired of divisive culture wars taking over their libraries and schools. 

Concerned citizens are speaking out at school board meetings, holding rallies, and organizing postcard campaigns to support libraries, authors, and people’s stories. People are coming together to fight censorship and celebrate the joy of reading and learning. Despite fear-mongering and threats, libraries and schools are what they’ve always been: treasured community resources.

Florida Freedom to Read partners Raegan Miller (left) and Stephana Ferrell (right) at the Florida state capitol. Image courtesy of the Florida Freedom to Read Project.

Conclusion

This isn’t the first time people have sought to ban books, and it won’t be the last. But remember, authors, libraries, and books have survived every past attempt at censorship because most Americans understand the importance of our First Amendment right to receive information — and they will stand firm through these challenges, too. In the meantime, we can celebrate the students, teachers, parents, librarians, and everyday citizens who are standing up for teachers, library workers, authors, and publishers facing censorship and insisting that diverse stories matter. Our collective resolve is unstoppable. In the long arc of history, the freedom to read will win.

Header image provided by PEN America.