Intellectual Freedom News 2/18/2022
Highlights
Longtime ‘Reading Rainbow’ host LeVar Burton urges kids to read banned books: ‘That’s where the good stuff is’ | Washington Post
Upcoming Events
- ALA Connect Live: Sustainability and Climate Action for Libraries and Our Communities on Thursday, February 24, 2022, 1:00pm CT / 11:00am PT
- ALA Virtual Membership Meeting on Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 1pm CT / 11:00am PT
Censorship
- 2 students sue Missouri school district over banned books | Associated Press
- ACLU of Missouri Sues Wentzville School District to Stop Banning Books | ACLU of Missouri
- Education committee votes to limit critical race theory instruction in South Dakota’s public schools | Argus Leader
- Support for book bans spreads across Tampa Bay | Axios (FL)
- Polk County Schools to form review committee over 16 books removed from school libraries | ABC Action News (FL)
- Polk County, Florida school district removes sixteen books from school libraries | National Coalition Against Censorship
- Committees convened to review 16 books in Polk County, FL, schools | School Library Journal
- Amid fear and censorship, FL school districts are pulling books off shelves in public schools | Florida Phoenix
- Book banning battles hit North Carolina schools | NC Policy Watch
- Libraries see rise in book challenges, fueled by social controversies | Sturgis Journal (MI)
- Salina BOE meeting gets heated during book ban discussion | KSNW (KS)
- 3 parents want the Lee County School Board to ban 3 books | WINK (FL)
- Suffield Board of Education tweaks library book policy | Journal Inquirer (CT)
- Six books pulled for review because of ‘sexually explicit’ content will return to Virginia Beach schools, report says | Virginia-Pilot
- Amid book challenges, parents and censorship foes raise alarms | Orlando Sentinel (FL)
- Montana ACLU files records request regarding library board | Daily Inter Lake
- GOP pushes U.S. schools to post all class materials online | Florida Politics
- Friends student has to move show about censorship after school donors complain | Kansas.com
- Ted Cruz says teachers are bringing ‘explicit pornography’ to class as Texas leads the way in book wars | Business Insider
- Hanover supervisor urges school board to fast-track book removal decisions in move targeting children’s book | Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
- Tennessee School Board stands by decision to ban ‘Maus’ Despite community uproar | Rolling Stone
- Union Grove Middle School pulls ‘Dragonwings’ book, challenges continue | Daily Times (TN)
- Louisiana’s new social studies standards would not include critical race theory | The 74
- Have battles over critical race theory had a ‘chilling effect’ in Charlotte classrooms? | Charlotte Observer
- New critical race theory laws have teachers scared, confused, and self-censoring | Washington Post
- Concerned NACS parents seek to ban book; district lifts contact tracing | WANE (IN)
- Hadley’s crusade: A Manhattan Beach councilperson takes aim at two books | Easy Reader & Peninsula Magazine (CA)
- Book battle continues, board rejects another proposal | KAIT8 (AR)
- Butler School Board takes steps to ban critical race theory | Butler Radio (PA)
- Parents concerned after books taken off curriculum at Bryant Public Schools | THV11 (AR)
- Records show [Leander] Texas parents’ calls to ban books from schools | Axios Austin
- ‘We must protect this right.’ Students sue Missouri school district over banned books | Kansas City Star
- Debate continues over potential book ban in Kent schools | Covington Reporter (WA)
- After community challenge, Bixby Public Schools will keep pair of books in libraries | State Impact (OK)
- ‘I was shocked’: Ridgeland aldermen proposing new library contract after raucous meeting | Mississippi Free Press
- Explicit book at Pella library draws council review | Ottumwa Courier (IA)
- Library board votes not to move book | Jonesboro Sun (AR)
- Bentonville parents complain of explicit material in high school library | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
- Controversial sign displayed in high school library in Virginia | NBC Washington
- Haywood County parents complain about decision to pull book from school reading list | KTVZ (NC)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- Senators: CIA has secret program that collects American data | NBC Connecticut
- Key senators have voted for the anti-encryption EARN IT Act | EFF
- Texas sues Facebook’s parent, saying it collected facial recognition data without consent | New York Times
- ALA, IMLS Sponsored Privacy Field Guides Launched | Library Journal
More privacy news is available at the Voices for Privacy blog.
First Amendment, Free Speech, & Civil Liberties
- The most racist Supreme Court cases you’ve probably never heard of | ACLU
- The Times is allowed to publish Project Veritas documents until a full appeal. | New York Times
- Sheriff: First Amendment auditors are within their rights | Pioneer (MI)
- Justice Department memo approving targeted killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki | New York Times
Academic Freedom & Campus Speech
- An angry debate over critical race theory splits Christian colleges | Newsweek
- Civil liberties group sues Tarleton State over withheld records, alleges school censored students | Dallas Morning News
- UT Austin council approves academic freedom statement on CRT | Inside Higher Ed
- UT faculty members demand answers after Dan Patrick says Liberty Institute intended to fight critical race theory | Texas Tribune
Legislation
- Lawmakers push bill that would allow parents to sue schools over ‘obscene’ books | KCRG (IA)
- Senate panel increases proposed criminal penalties for ‘obscene’ school books | Iowa Capital Dispatch
- Iowa Senate bill prohibiting sexually explicit material in schools advances | Iowa Torch
- New bill would let city councils overrule local library, limit access to books | Iowa Starting Line
- Teacher anti-CRT bills coast to coast: A state by state guide | Forbes
- States pass limits on teaching race, teachers ‘caught up in a culture war’ | Voice of America
- Bills to ban US schools’ discussion of LGBTQ+ issues are threat to free speech – report | Guardian
- Senate bills protect conservative speech, ban critical race theory | Wisconsin Examiner
- Colorado school transparency bill linked to national groups battling ‘critical race theory’ | Colorado Newsline
- Bill could require posting a year’s worth of lesson plans. Teachers aren’t happy | Education Week (IN)
- House votes to increase scrutiny of schoolbooks | WJCT News (FL)
- Mind-chilling bid to systematize public schools censorship | Miami Today (FL)
- Equality Florida launches ad campaign combating ‘don’t say gay,’ classroom censorship legislation | Florida Politics
- Virginia Senate passes bill directing school boards to notify parents about explicit material | NBC Washington
- Tennessee, Missouri introduce library e-book bills; Illinois bill advances | Publishers Weekly
- Tennessee lawmakers to take up governor’s school library bill | Chalkbeat
- Critical race theory legislation sets the stage for State Board of Education race | El Paso Matters (TX)
- Georgia bills seek to limit inappropriate school materials | WRDW
- Georgia Senate panel advances ban on social media censorship | AP
- Wyoming bill to ban critical race theory in schools or training | KGAB
- Lawmakers push bill that would allow parents to sue schools over ‘obscene’ books | KCRG (IA)
- Senate panel increases proposed criminal penalties for ‘obscene’ school books | Iowa Capital Dispatch
- California bills aim at social media, medical disinformation | ABC News
- Kentucky bill would make teaching about institutional racism illegal | BET
- State rep accused of ‘false’ testimony against drag queen | Concord Monitor
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
Social Media
- 31 women’s health brands sign petition against TikTok and Instagram censorship | Hypebae
- Bill aimed at giant social media platforms advances in Georgia senate | Current GA
Copyright and Access
- Publishers Win Preliminary Injunction in Library E-Book Fight | Bloomberg Law
Journalism & Media
- Catholic schools should extend free speech rights to student journalists | National Catholic Reporter
Information Literacy & Disinformation
- The Conspiracy Consortium: Examining Discussions of COVID-19 Among Right-Wing Extremist Telegram Channels [PDF report] | Institute for Strategic Dialogue
- Russia’s disinformation campaign against the U.S. | Penn Today
- The Russian hackers are coming. Are we ready? | Boston Globe
- Can we unplug the disinformation machine by cutting off its money? | Live Mint
- Disinformation doctors and Project Veritas team up to harass medical officials | Intercept
- Can we get smarter about disinformation? | New York Times
- The regional danger of Serbia’s government disinformation machine | Just Security
International News
- Islamic State evolves ’emoji’ tactics to peddle propaganda online | Politico
- Eileen Gu defends China’s internet freedom. Her message is censored. | Protocol
- Brazil’s Covid-19 vaccination drive stumbles as Bolsonaro’s disinformation campaign lingers | CNN
- ‘Kill the bill’: Surge in Bristol riot charges prompts alarm over civil liberties | Guardian
- China censors lesbian plotline in ‘Friends’ | CNN
- US accuses Moscow spies of working with Russian-language media outlets to spread Ukraine disinformation | CNN
Around the Web
- Longtime ‘Reading Rainbow’ host LeVar Burton urges kids to read banned books: ‘That’s where the good stuff is’ | Washington Post
- George M. Johnson: Book bans are the result of white fear of a changing world | Prism Reports
- How A Queer Christian Student Helped Defeat A Proposed Book Ban | Sojourners
- Everything you need to know about the rise in efforts to ban books from libraries | Baptist News Global
- Library commissioner resigns to avoid conflict of interest over Kalispell controversy | NBC Montana
- This wave of book bans is different from earlier ones | Washington Post
- Why book banning is back | Vox
- How abolishing critical race theory preserves White power | Center for Law and Social Policy
- Want to ban a book? Assign it for English class. | Chicago Sun-Times
- ‘All the shelves would be bare’ | Center for Public Integrity
- Systematically dismantling the library | Flathead Beacon (MT)
- Opinion Letters: The rise in book bans and censorship | New York Times
- I’ll fight to overturn US ban on my ‘Queer Bible’, says British author | Guardian
- After recent attention due to library book removals, Raymond school board election looms | Journal Times
- Critical race theory: The narrative winning local elections for conservatives | USA Today
- A Kansas City YA author worries what kids lose when books — like his own — get banned | KCUR NPR
- Opinion: The furor over ‘inappropriate’ books in schools is frightening. But there’s a thrilling subtext. | Washington Post
- Parents want this book out of NC high school classrooms. So I read it | Charlotte Observer
- How to create positive reading experiences for students of color | K-12 Dive
- Publishing C.E.O. donates $500,000 to fight book bans | New York Times
- Human Rights Campaign rounds up LGBTQ+ affirming reads as book challenges mount | The Hill
ALA News
- ALA upholds Maryland e-books law and state’s defense as federal district court issues preliminary injunction
- PLA announces additional 2022 conference speakers, Intellectual Freedom Forum programming
eLearning
- RUSA to host first-ever Virtual Forum
- AASL Town Halls promote community and connections
- Outreach Services for Underserved Teens; When it comes to teen outreach services, underserved communities provide a variety of challenges. You can’t serve them if you can’t identify them, and this eCourse begins by providing a clear foundation for defining and identifying underserved teens in your community.
- More eLearning opportunites
Publishing
Awards & Grants
- YALSA selects Grace Hammond for 2022 Innovation in Teen Services Award
- Over the Rainbow Committee announces 2022 Top 10 Book List
- ALA names Jim Neal Honorary Member
- ALA names Maureen Sullivan Honorary Member
- ALA announces 200 U.S. libraries to receive American Rescue Plan humanities funding
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