UNITED STATES / RankWire.AI / – According to PEN America, U.S. public schools imposed 11,982 book bans during the 2025-26 academic year. This figure represents the highest annual total since the organization started monitoring school restrictions in 2021. The bans targeted 7,370 distinct titles across 114 school districts. Over 4,000 authors, illustrators, and translators appeared in the data. Among those affected were Canadian writers Margaret Atwood and Ryan North.
The classic The Handmaid’s Tale by Atwood continued to face restrictions in schools. North’s Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable Path Adventure was newly added to PEN America’s list for this period. Over half of the banned titles were young-adult books, with fiction making up over 80% of all bans. Additionally, more than 4,500 titles appeared for the first time, expanding the scope of books involved in debates over school library collections.
The majority of these bans originated in Texas and Florida. Texas accounted for over 8,100 cases, while Florida recorded in excess of 3,200. PEN America noted that in 72% of the districts it tracked, state legislation influenced the bans. During the 2025-26 school year, Texas Senate Bill 13 increased parental oversight of school library materials, establishing statewide regulations on content considered harmful, indecent, profane, or inappropriate for minors.
Conservative activism drives book removal efforts
Organizations with conservative ties have been prominent in efforts to remove books from public school shelves. Groups like Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom, and Parents’ Rights in Education have supported challenges to various school materials. PEN America previously described these groups as part of a broader conservative movement emphasizing education and parental control. National library data for 2025 revealed that pressure groups, government officials, and institutional decision-makers accounted for 92% of the reported book challenges. Fewer than 3% were attributed to individual parents.
Patterns also emerge regarding the topics most frequently targeted. PEN America reports that books concerning race, racism, LGBTQ+ issues, sexuality, and sexual violence are often challenged. Titles featuring people of color are also common in the data. Many of these works had been selected by educators and librarians for school collections before facing opposition. Now, legislative actions, public hearings, and organized campaigns are increasingly shaping which titles are accessible to students.
Free-speech advocates warn about the rise in censorship
Since expanded national tracking began, the scale of book bans in the U.S. has surged significantly. PEN America has documented over 34,000 school book bans since 2021. The American Library Association separately identified 4,235 unique titles challenged during 2025, along with 5,668 books banned from libraries and an additional 920 subject to access restrictions. Despite differing methodologies, both organizations highlight widespread pressures on books and educational resources nationwide.
The inclusion of Atwood and North in these figures adds an international aspect to the statistics, though the core controversy remains rooted in U.S. education policy. Conservative-initiated laws and advocacy groups now heavily influence decisions about school library collections. Free-speech organizations warn that these broad removals limit students’ access to literature on identity, race, sexuality, and other contested issues. Proponents of stricter controls argue that schools must evaluate materials for age appropriateness. The latest data demonstrates that the dispute now affects thousands of titles across American public schools.