From Utah Stories. Read full story here. Watch Video Here.

A battle over book bans is sweeping Utah’s schools, pitting state laws against local communities’ rights to shape education. Utah Teacher of the Year John Arthur steps into the fray, challenging restrictions that he believes rob students of vital perspectives and the freedom to explore.

From Utah Stories. Read full story here. Watch Video Here.

From the Mary Sue. See Full Article Here.

Utah book banners have now set their sights on Little Free Libraries, clamoring to make owners of these libraries susceptible to criminal charges.

As conservative parents, educators, and politicians spread the book-banning movement across the nation, Utah has quickly arisen as one of the most dystopian states when it comes to the right to read.

The state recently passed a law that allows it to enact statewide book bans. Essentially, if a handful of schools find some kind of fault with a book, it can be banned in every single public and charter school in the state. The Utah Board of Education also suggested adding a stipulation to the law that would’ve required teachers to burn the books banned statewide. Meanwhile, the state’s conservative politicians and educators recently held a book-banning party to celebrate the archaic law and demand that authors “repent” for writing books.

From Axios. Read the Full Article Here.

Advocates of school book bans have shifted their sights toward Utah's little free libraries after a Democratic lawmaker planned to add banned books to the volunteer-run curbside collections in her district.

Driving the news: State Rep. Sahara Hayes (D-Salt Lake City) recently announced on Instagram that she planned to celebrate national Banned Books Week by placing titles that are banned in a Utah school inside little free libraries.

That led to accusations that she was distributing "explicit content" to children in violation of Utah laws.

Some of the activists have previously filed police reports accusing schools of distributing pornography because they carried books by acclaimed authors like Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood and Sherman Alexie.

From Axios. Read the Full Article Here.

From the Salt Lake Tribune. See full story here.

Two Utah school districts removed all 13 titles now banned in public schools statewide — and collectively spent more than $29,000 to do so.

Banning books in Utah’s public schools comes with a hefty price tag, including the costs of purchasing copies for committees to review.

In the Davis School District alone, that cost topped $27,000 during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, according to records obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune.

Over those two years, the district reviewed around 100 titles. While not all were removed, they did ban the 13 books that are now prohibited in every public school across Utah.

From the Salt Lake Tribune. Read the Full Story Here

At the event, conservative Utahns hailed the removal of 13 titles from public schools as a “stand against evil” and a “bright day.” “These authors will bow their knees before the King of kings and Lord of lords, and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,” he preached. “I hope they will repent of what they’ve done and receive Jesus Christ as their savior.”

[Congressman Burgess] Owens labeled the 13 banned books as “smut” and said there is an ongoing “battle for the hearts of our nation.”

“What’s seen here in these books is Marxist ideology that hates everything we stand for,” Owens said.

New Report From Pen America. Read the full report here.

The 101 on HB 29

HB 29 is one of the most extreme book banning laws currently in effect. The law mandates statewide bans, and has resulted in the first instance of a state releasing an official list of books that are illegal to stock on school shelves.

The law builds on 2022’s HB 374, aka the “Sensitive Materials in Schools” Act. HB 374 banned so-called “sensitive materials” from public schools, which it defined as “indecent or pornographic” materials under existing state statute. The law caused school book bans in Utah to jump from just 12 in the 2021-2022 school year to 281 the next; it was used to justify the bans of popular titles like Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez. 

From Axios. See Full story here

Author Margaret Atwood is mocking Utah for banning her book "Oryx and Crake" in schools statewide. State of play: The book is one of 13 that were banned from all public schools in Utah, state education officials announced last week.

12 were written by women.

What they're saying: "Wow, I'm the most dangerous little old lady of 84 you've ever heard of!" Atwood posted Wednesday on X. "Oh alas, whatever will I do? Hit Utah with my cane?"

From the Guardian. See the full story here.

State has ordered books by 13 authors, 12 of them women, to be removed from every public school, classroom and library.

Books by Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume, Rupi Kaur and Sarah J Maas are among 13 titles that the state of Utah has ordered to be removed from all public school classrooms and libraries.

This marks the first time a state has outlawed a list of books statewide, according to PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman, who oversees the organisation’s free expression programs.

The books on the list were prohibited under a new law requiring all of Utah’s public school districts to remove books if they are banned in either three districts, or two school districts and five charter schools. Utah has 41 public school districts in total.

From the Guardian. See the full story here.

From the AV Club. See full story here.

Thirteen titles, including by Judy Blume, Sarah J. Maas, and Margaret Atwood, have been banned in Utah public schools.

The state of Utah has ordered the removal of 13 books from all public school classrooms and libraries, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Six of those titles come from Sarah J. Maas’ A Court Of Thorns And Roses and Throne Of Glass series. Other books now banned in the state include Judy Blume’s Forever…, Margaret Atwood’s Oryx & Crake, Craig Thompson’s Blankets, Rupi Kaur’s prose and poetry collection Milk And Honey, Elana K. Arnold’s What Girls Are Made Of, and both Fallout and Tilt by Ellen Hopkins. According to PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman, “Though many states have passed laws to facilitate book bans, UT is the 1st to outlaw a list of books.”

From ABC4. Read the whole story here

There are thirteen titles you won’t be able to find at school libraries under Utah law H.B. 29. The Utah State Board of Education has designated these books as unfit for school reading, or “objective sensitive material,” as stated under law.

Here is the complete list of banned books:

From KUER 90.1. Read the full story here

Thirteen books are now banned from all Utah public schools per a list released Friday afternoon, Aug. 2, by the Utah State Board of Education.

A new law that updated the state’s “sensitive materials” law required the board to create and distribute the list.

From Fox 13. See full story here

See video with interview of author Elana K. Arnold, here.

The complete list of books banned at all public schools in the state of Utah was released Friday, with thirteen titles included and will no longer be available in school libraries.

It is the first time an official list has been created and ordered to be followed by the Utah State Board of Education.

From Salt Lake Tribune. See full story here

The Utah state school board on Friday ordered the removal of 13 book titles from every public school in the state, in accordance with a new law passed earlier this year.

The list’s publication comes only weeks before the new school year will begin. Six of the 13 titles were written by the same fantasy romance author, Sarah J. Maas.

Districts and charter schools must now dispose of the following titles, according to the Utah State Board of Education, marking a historical first for the state.

From KSL. See the full story here

Thirteen books will be taken off the shelves at every public school library in Utah after the State Board of Education ordered their removal Friday. The move comes on the heels of the passing of HB29 during the 2024 legislative session.

The bill — sponsored by Rep Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan — allows for removal of challenged books from schools statewide if officials in three school districts (or two districts and three charter schools) decide the material violates state law and should be removed from their schools.

From KUER: See full story here

Utah’s latest law restricting “sensitive materials” in K-12 schools went into effect July 1. The Utah State Board of Education will now create a list of any books that need to be removed from all of the state's public schools.

From the Salt Lake Tribune. See the full story here

list of the first-ever books to be banned from every public school in Utah will be released in two months. Before school begins this fall, Utah officials will send a list of books to all public schools, ordering their “disposal.” Among those titles could be works by renowned authors like Toni Morrison, Judy Blume and Margaret Atwood — titles that some districts and public charters have already banned. That’s because, under a new law that takes effect July 1, a book can be removed from all schools across the state if at least three school districts (or at least two school districts and five charter schools) specifically determine it amounts to “objective sensitive material”

Listen to the story here

School districts await a statewide book ban list as Utah plans to retroactively enforce a new law. Salt Lake City School District pauses a plan to train all students on what restrooms they can use. Also will — and should — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint ever ‘seal’ same-sex couples in temples? See what members think. Tribune reporters Carmen Nesbitt, Michael Lee and Tamarra Kemsley, along with news columnist Robert Gehrke join to talk about the week’s top stories, including school districts awaiting a statewide book ban list as Utah plans to retroactively enforce a new law.

Listen to the Story Here

Read the full story here

The Utah State Board of Education is still determining how the state’s new book ban law can be applied retroactively. But a plan drafted this week offers a glimpse into how the process could work. The Utah State Board of Education is still determining how the state’s new book ban law can be applied retroactively. But a plan drafted this week offers a glimpse into how the process could work.

Read Full Story Here

From Utah News Dispatch. Read the full story here.

State officials still working on implementing HB29 so the number is not yet known. Meanwhile, some districts pull previously retained books like ‘The Kite Runner’ — and they’re not likely to return. Currently there are more questions than answers about how many books will actually be banned statewide once a new bill passed by the 2024 Utah Legislature becomes law.

Read the full article here

While there are more than two months left before a Utah law creating a pathway for school book bans goes into effect, several school districts in the state have already begun removing books from their shelves. Utah’s governor signed HB29 into law last month, which would create a protocol for books to be banned statewide .

Read Full Article Here

During the most recent session, the Utah Legislature decided to continue its manufactured culture war by taking literature out of school libraries. Sure, they claim it's due to "pornography," and they're just "protecting the children." But if you look at the books getting challenged, the alleged pornography boils down to milquetoast stuff written by and starring marginalized folks.

Read full article here

H.B. 29 was signed into law by Gov. Cox on March 18, further restricting materials in Utah K-12 classrooms and allows statewide banning if approved by at least three Utah school districts. The issue of book banning emerged again in this year’s legislative session. H.B. 29, which was signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox on March 18, not only bans books with “indecent materials” but grants school districts the authority to ban books throughout the entire state.

Read the full article here

The law, which Gov. Spencer Cox signed this month, is also supposed to apply retroactively, potentially putting those at least 36 books already banned by three or more school districts in limbo statewide. The problem is, officials are unsure how to retroactively enforce the law. That’s because a statewide “objective” sensitive material standard has never existed. Until now, districts weren’t required to use that terminology when making removal determinations.

Read the full story here

As a school librarian, I was dismayed to read misinformation about the “silver lining of book bans” in the Tribune’s March 24 editorial. To quote the editors, “A powerful and humane book that might otherwise gather dust on the shelves of a school library (Do most kids even go to their school library anymore?) may now receive a lot of attention and find a new audience among thinking people who will now seek it out.”

Read the full letter here

HB29, a new law that makes it much easier for a few outliers to ban books from every school district in the state of Utah, is a particularly odious piece of legislation. Rammed through by the Legislature’s Republican supermajority, and cravenly signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, the law would remove from the shelves of every public school library in the state any book that has been determined to contain “objective sensitive material”

Read the full article here

On behalf of more than 18,000 Utah educators, the Utah Education Association is asking the Governor to veto HB29: “a bill that is poor policy for public education.”

Read Letter Here

A coalition of Utah organizations on Tuesday sent a letter asking Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to veto the controversial HB29, which targets books and other material with sexually explicit passages for removal from school libraries. The bill gives the State Board of Education the option of holding a hearing after three school districts or two school districts and five charter schools determine the materials in a book are pornographic or indecent, which would trigger removal of the materials statewide.

From KSL. See Full Story Here

Description goes hereRead-in at the State Capitol protests book banning bill

A group of over 100 people came together for a read-in at the Utah Capitol Thursday to advocate for the freedom to choose what to read and to push back against legislation that clarifies school library book challenges. This was hosted by Let Utah Read and came after the House of Representatives voted 52-18 to approve House Bill 29.

From Utah Public Radio. Read Full Story Here

Utah education advocates urged Gov. Spencer Cox in an open letter Tuesday to veto a bill the Legislature sent to his desk last week that would make it easier to ban books from schools statewide. The letter was signed by leaders of organizations including the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union; the Utah chapter of PEN America; national library advocacy group EveryLibrary; the Utah Library Association; and the Utah Educational Library Media Association.

From Salt Lake Tribune. See Full Article Here

Kaitlyn Mahoney recalls not having access to the "language of me" growing up in Provo. Mahoney is the owner of Under the Umbrella Bookstore in Salt Lake City, which specializes in sharing stories from LGBTQ perspectives and highlighting the voices of people of color. Mahoney on Thursday joined a group of over 100 people who came together for a read-in at the state Capitol hosted by Let Utah Read to advocate for the freedom to choose what to read and push back against legislation that clarifies school library book challenges.

From KSL News. Read the Full Story Here

Description goes hereOn Feb. 22 the advocacy group Let Utah Read invited people to the rotunda to support Utahns’ right to read. It was also a chance to weigh in on a bill that will soon make it easier for Utah schools to ban books deemed inappropriate.

From KUER: Read Full Story Here

Description goes here H.B. 29 is the worst example of letting 1% control the habits of the other 99%. Under the bill, school district committees will be established to consider the very subjective evaluation of a book’s literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Different parents will have varied ideas.

From The Davis Journal: See full article here

A proposed bill could make public school employees subject to misdemeanor charges if they keep materials deemed “objectively sensitive” available to students.

From Salt Lake Tribune.. Read the full article

Description goes here Utah lawmakers are considering significant changes to Utah’s law that allows for books to be removed from school libraries. The proposal includes lowering the threshold for when a book can be banned statewide and would allow lawmakers to challenge books in the districts they represent.

From KSL News: Read the full story here

The Salt Lake Tribune compiled a list of 262 books removed across 17 school districts. One literature professor asks: “What are we going to be left with?

From the Salt Lake Tribune. Read the full article here.

As the right-wing book-banning movement justifies its crusade against U.S. libraries and classrooms with claims of "parental rights," survey data released Wednesday shows that 74% of parents agree or somewhat agree that book bans for public libraries infringe on their right to make decisions for their children.

Read report from EveryLibrary and Book Riot here.

Another poll, this one conducted by Utah firm Dan Jones & Associates, shows that Utahns strongly oppose book banning..

(From Deseret News; read here)

MARCH 30, 2023

OGDEN — School officials have removed two children’s books from elementary school libraries. One is about a young transgender girl and the other is about the history of the rainbow pride flag and gay activist Harvey Milk.

(from Ogden Standard Examiner; read it here)

MARCH 29, 2023

SALT LAKE CITY — A novelist and grandfather shares his concerns about the slippery slope of banning books. Laws like the one introduced by Rep. Ken Ivory don’t help protect children; these laws just prevent children from leaning.

(from Salt Lake City Weekly; read it here)

MARCH 28, 2023

NEW YORK CITY — The challenge to remove the Bible from Davis County school libraries made a national list of surprising things banned in American schools.

(from PEN America; read more here)

MARCH 20, 2023

FARMINGTON — A challenge was filed with district officials asking that the Bible be pulled from the shelves of the district’s schools in Framington, Utah. The school district doesn’t reveal who challenges books, nor does it ask why.

(from The Deseret News: read here)

MARCH 15, 2023

FARMINGTON — The Davis County School District has announced that it will remove the Nobel Prize-winning novel The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison from all school libraries.

(from KUTV: read here)

MARCH 9, 2023

FARMINGTON — Davis School District has fielded 80 requests for removal of books from school libraries in the system since creation of a new policy governing “sensitive materials” last year. 33 of the books have been removed already.

(from Standard Examiner; read here)

Op Ed by Let Utah Read in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read the full article here.

Some Utah legislators continue to falsely label books obscene and pornographic based on a few lines that, taken out of context, may be uncomfortable to read aloud in public meetings.

The story of Utah banning books continues to make international news. Beyond the 13 books on the statewide “no read” list, there have been over 140 additional titles publicly reported to have been banned in schools across the state. This is certainly an undercount, as there is no requirement for schools to report book removals to parents and taxpayers.

While some claim that we must ban books to protect children, the fact is that many of the books banned in Utah deal with challenging topics, including sexual assault, and these books — available to teens, not little kids — help them protect themselves, their friends and their siblings from abuse. Many authors have shared that their own experience with abuse led them to write their books. They are writing the books that they wished they had access to when they were being abused and didn’t know how to get help — or even know it wasn’t their fault.