Utah Bans Its 37th Book From All Public Schools

The state of Utah continues its 2026 book banning blitz. On August 19, the state added its 37th book to the list of books that must be removed from every public school in the state: Push by Sapphire. The ban comes amid a lawsuit challenging these state-sanctioned bans filed in February and follows the banning of 17 other books in 2026 alone. With a total of 18 books banned in Utah in 2026, this is the busiest year for banning books in the state, surpassing the first year of the state’s book removal law, 2024, when 14 titles were banned. Utah passed one of the strictest bills related to books in public schools in 2024. House Bill 29 (HB 29) allows parents to challenge books they deem “sensitive material,” and it also outright bans books from all public schools in the state if those books have been deemed “objective sensitive material” or “pornographic” per state code in at least three public school districts or two public school districts and five charter schools statewide. The bill took effect on July 1, 2024, and it started with 13 titles. The bill is retroactive, meaning titles that met the state’s guidelines before the bill’s start date were included on the list. Per HB 29, any ...