Books banned in schools in the U.S. H2 2022, by state

Texas was the state with the highest number of books banned in schools in the United States between July 2022 and December 2022, with a total of 438 books being banned in that period. Florida ranked second with close to 360 book bans in school classrooms and libraries across the state, followed by Missouri with 315. The books most likely to be banned or restricted were those which addressed violence or physical abuse, or health and wellbeing for students.

New laws, more bans

In the first half of the 2022-2023 school year alone, almost 1,500 books were banned. Just one policy contributing to the growing number of challenges to books in schools is Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, otherwise known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which aims to prevent classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation for children from kindergarten up to grade three. This law, along with several others introduced in states across the United States, are often worded in a manner which is vague or non-specific, leaving librarians, educators, and principals under pressure to swiftly or preemptively remove books on a larger scale (so-called “wholesale bans”) to prevent punishment later.

In Utah, after the Sensitive Materials in Schools Act went into effect, school districts were issued guidance to remove any books that are defined as pornography under state statute, which led to the removal of books including Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Forever…” by Judy Blume. Indeed, school libraries were the second most likely location to be affected by censorship attempts on books.

The audiences most affected by bans

In the last half of 2022, most book titles banned in schools in the United States were young adult books aimed at teenagers aged 13 to 17 years old. Over 50 percent of titles banned in that period were intended for this audience.