Intellectual Freedom News 03/17/2023
Highlights
Censorship
- Crawford County board to consider proposal to review all books purchased or donated to county libraries | Arkansas Democrat Gazette (AR)
- Florida book bans are not a hoax | Popular Information (FL)
- Michigan prosecutor mulls charging Lapeer library over LGBTQ book | Bridge Michigan (MI)
- NCAC letter to the board of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools | NCAC (NC)
- Holocaust novel by Jodi Picoult removed as Florida school district purges libraries to comply with state law | Jewish Telegraphic Agency (FL)
- Calif. parents slam ‘divisive’ ethnic studies curriculum: ‘Riddled with critical race principles’ | CBS (CA)
- Ogden school officials have fielded three book challenges since policy update | Standard-Examiner (UT)
- ‘Sexually explicit’ library books may be restricted in Pa. school district, stirring debate among parentF | OKC Fox (PA)
- An award-winning author went to Central Bucks to protest proposed book bans, including of one of her own | Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
- Crawford County board to consider proposal to review all books purchased or donated to county libraries | Arkansas Democrat Gazette (AR)
- Increasing scrutiny of libraries in Arkansas part of national trend, officals say | Arkansas Democrat Gazette (AR)
- Leader of Duval schools team reviewing books for ‘inappropriate material’ fired for inappropriate comments about lesbians | First Coast News (FL)
- Florida students protest their school district’s book ban | NPR (FL)
- Hilliard parents debate banning book from school libraries | WCMH (OH)
- Fremont city council reconsiders library policy for reclassifying books | KETV (NE)
- More than a year after book ban backlash, Central York quietly ‘removes’ novel from library | York Dispatch (PA)
- School library books cause controversy at Guilford board of ed. meeting | Inside Investigator (CT)
- Hendersonville library director fired after theats, allegatiosn in national media relating to Christian actor’s story hour | WKRN (TN)
- 3 Elizabeth school board members’ resignations over CRT complaints accepted in 6-minute meeting | Colorado Sun (CO)
- A contentious component removed from Roanoke County school library policy | Roanoke.com (VA)
- Florida scoured math textbooks for ‘prohibited topics.’ Next up: Social studies. | New York Times (FL)
- Montgomery County parent raises concerns over book policy following ‘inappropriate’ book found in school library | WSLS (VA)
- Gov. DeSantis calls out ‘explicit’ book found in Collier County high schools | WINK (FL)
- Greenville County library committee advances proposal to limit transgender-themed materials | Greenville News (SC)
- Community, employees condemn Greenville County library board of trustees at citizen forum | Greenville News (SC)
- Davis school district bans Nobel Prize-winning book ‘The Bluest Eye’ from all libraries | KUTV (UT)
Privacy and Cybersecurity
- WhatsApp says it will leave the UK rather than weaken encryption under Online Safety Bill | Verge
- When your ‘friends’ spy on you: The firm pitching Orwellian social media surveillance to militaries | Rappler
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- Residents’ Right to Be Rude Upheld by Massachusetts Supreme Court | New York Times
- Court: First Amendment protects warning drivers about police checkpoints | Forbes
- We won’t go back: LGBTQ+ sit-in held in Cedar Rapids | CBS2Iowa
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- An Idaho college removes artwork about abortion, citing a state law | New York Times (ID)
- Staten Island students rally in Albany for bill to protect school journalists | Staten Island Live (NY)
- A student journalist’s plea: Stop censoring us (and our advisers) | Education Week
Legislation
- Letter to the editor: Louisiana Senate Bill 7 is an authoritarian nightmare | Reveille (LA)
- DeSantis’ effort to eliminate DEI efforts in universities passes in committee | WUSF (FL)
- NC GOP hoping secon time’s the charm with new anti-CRT bill | Queen City News (NC)
- Amendment to child protection bill could have major implications for Mississippi libraries | MPB (MS)
- Few challenges arise to ‘obscene’ materials in North Dakota public libraries; bill amended for minors | Grand Forks Herald (ND)
- A state-by-state guide to the coalitions and campaigns fighting criminalizing librarians | School Library Journal
- Op/Ed: SB 12 opens door to secrecy, shame, fear in Indiana instead of safe learning space | IndyStar (IN)
- Black lawmaker say nondiscrimination measure is racist | OCPA Think (OK)
- Obscenity bill raises questions beyond school libraries | Daily Montanan (MT)
- Lawmaker seeks to change policies limiting what teachers can tell parents | NBC (CA)
- Why you should be concerned about changes in education | Chronicle Online (FL)
- Arizona senate bill aimst to prohibit certain books and materials in schools | KOLD (AZ)
- Hobbs vetoes bill that banned ‘critical race theory’ in Arizona schools | AZ MIrror (AZ)
- Indiana lawmakers choose censorship over freedom in schools | ACLU (IN)
- Retired teacher: Anti-CRT bill NC is considering will backfire — Opinion | Charlotte Observer (NC)
- Durham school board members pass resolution opposing ‘anti-CRT’ bill | Indyweek (NC)
- Texas senate bill proposes ban on future tenure at public higher education institutions | Austin American-Statesman (TX)
- Illinois, Indiana on different pages in responding to efforts to ban library books | KPVI
- ACLU of Idaho director warns of chipping away at civil liberties — Opinion | Idaho Statesman (ID)
- The drag show ans sweeping the US are a chilling attack on free speech | Guardian
- House lawmakers pass bill to criminalize Arkansas librarians who let kids see ‘harmful’ content, give local officials power to decide what’s appropriate | Arkansas Times (AR)
- Historians express ‘horror’ at Florida’s HB 999. They say it threatens academic freedom | WFSU (FL)
State & Local Governance
- Florida Board of Education limits books allowed in classrooms and libraries | FSU News (FL)
- Arizona launches hotline for public to report ‘inappropriate’ school lessons | CNN (AZ)
Social Media
Disinformation & Information Literacy
- ‘Alt-right’ disinformation king faces trial | SPLC
- Making deepfakes gets cheaper and easier thanks to A.I. | New York Times
International
Around the Web
- The librarians are not okay | Atlantic
- No ‘hoax’: Florida NOW rips Ron DeSantis for ‘classroom censorship’ | Florida Politics
- Why I left my job teaching in public education | Triad City Beat
- As US education secertary, I want us to enrich public schools, not ban books and topics | Tampa Bay Times
- NCAC executive director Christopher Finan to retire | NCAC
- 2021 school librarian of the year Amanda Jones keeps fighting, files appeal of court decision | School Library Journal
- Neo-Nazis chanting ‘sieg heil’ target drag queen story event | Advocate
- Author James Patterson: Write to DeSantis after ‘absurd’ removal of Maximum Ride books | Palm Beach Post
- Opinion–Ron DeSantis’s book ban mania targets Jodi Picoult–and she hits back | Washington Post
- America has lost its historic free-speech consensus | Orange County Register
- Book bans are censorship, and they should be stopped — Youth views | Penn Live
- Experts say attacks on free speech are rising across the U.S. | PBS
ALA News
- ALA 2023 Annual Conference & Exhibition Preliminary Program showcases education programs, exhibitors, and other conference highlights
- Acclaimed authors Nikki Grimes, Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro, and award-winning illustrator Brian Pinkney announced as featured speakers at the ALA 2023 Annual Conference & Exhibition
- Missouri Association of School Librarians receives AASL Chapter of the Year Award
- South Carolina Association of School Librarians Awarded AASL ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant
- Core ALA Preconference: Core Innovative Learning Spaces: A Tour of Innovative Chicago Area Academic Institutions
- Core ALA Preconference: Introduction to Library Assessment
- Core Webinar: How to Effectively Market Today’s Library
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