Intellectual Freedom News 8/23/2024
Highlights
- Americans’ Views on Book Restrictions in U.S. Public Schools 2024 | Knight Foundation
- The American Booksellers Association Is Publishing a Handbook for Fighting Book Bans | Publishers Weekly
- ALA Opens 2025 Annual Conference & Exhibition Call for Proposals
Censorship
- Florida college dumps hundreds of books, many on sexuality, race and feminism | NBC News (FL)
- Libraries welcome everyone — including LGBTQ+ community | Athens County Independent (OH)
- 13 more books being removed from Cobb County Schools, district says | Atlanta News First (GA)
- Francis Howell school board will restrict books, conversation about gender identity | St. Louis Public Radio (MO)
- Cullman County Library approves policy revisions | Cullman Times (AL)
- Ozark library to reopen after month-long review of collection to comply with new state policy | WDHN (AL)
- Ozark Library reopening after policy change, book review | Alabama Political Reporter (AL)
- This Alabama library had to review 8,000 books. Here’s what happened | AL.com (AL)
- A South Texas school district received a request to remove 676 books from its libraries | Texas Tribune (TX)
- Katy ISD board of trustees to consider banning books on gender fluidity | Houston Chronicle (TX)
- Katy ISD trustees weigh controversial policy restricting library books about gender fluidity | Houston Public Media (TX)
- Supervisor Lawson-Remer proposes policy to ensure ‘banned books’ are available | CBS8 (CA)
- Tillamook school board removes book from curriculum | Tillamook Headlight Herald (OR)
- High school shuts down its library because of book-banning state law | LGBTQ Nation (TN)
- ‘Oh, dear lord:’ Community reacts to ‘inappropriate’ LCS book, author of book weighs in | WSET (VA)
- Dothan citizens express concerns over sexually explicit books being ignored, library director putting kids at risk | 1819 News (AL)
- Elizabeth School District latest in Colorado to enact book ban despite new poll showing most Americans support public schools’ selection of books | CPR News (CO)
- Greenville County Schools to ‘pause’ book fairs after new rules mandated in South Carolina | Greenville News (SC)
- Grand Forks Library Board votes to keep six children’s books on sex ed in place | Grand Forks Herald (ND)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- 50 Years after FERPA’s Passage, Ed Privacy Law Needs an Update for the AI Era | 74
- Lawsuit accuses Medford Police Department of illegally monitoring progressive activists | KGW8 (OR)
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- US appeals court partially blocks California child online safety law citing First Amendment concerns | Jurist News (CA)
- Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Houston immigrants’ rights org over political speech | Texas Tribune (TX)
- Federal court allows transgender student to try out for Virginia school sports team | Virginia Mercury (VA)
- DOJ, 17 states and DC file interest in lawsuit by former Cobb teacher fired over LGBTQ book lesson | WSBTV (GA)
- CAIR, Coalition Partners to Seek Accountability for Student Censorship, Protections in Maryland Public Schools | CAIR (MD)
- Support and Read Banned + Challenged Books! | Random House Teachers & Librarians
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- From the Frontlines of the MAGA War on Higher Education: The Ms. Q&A With New College of Florida Professor Amy Reid | Ms. Magazine (FL)
- AP African American studies class will return at all 5 Arkansas school districts that offered it in 2023-24 | Arkansas Democrat Gazette (AR)
- The AAUP has always defended academic freedom. We still do. A new boycott policy doesn’t change that. | Chronicle of Higher Education
Legislation
- Censoring the Internet Won’t Protect Kids | Reason
- State and local lawmakers seek to support public librarians amid rising book challenges | KPBS
State & Local Governance
Social Media
- How a Law That Shields Big Tech Is Now Being Used Against It | New York Times
- X announces suspension of Brazil operations, alleging ‘censorship orders’ from Supreme Court justice | AP
- Indigenous creators are clashing with YouTube’s and Instagram’s sensitive content bans | Rest of World
Net Neutrality & Broadband Access
- Key GOP Lawmakers Ask Court to Void FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules | Broadband Breakfast
Disinformation & Media Literacy
- OpenAI Busts Iran-Linked Disinformation Campaign After Microsoft, Google Identified Similar Operations | Forbes
- ‘The United States and other open societies must not be complacent’ | The Week
International
- Censorship in UK school libraries is worse than you think – and it’s up to us to fight it | Independent (UK)
- Banned: school librarians shushed over LGBT+ books | Index on Censorship (UK)
- Crown says conduct of preacher opposed to Reading With Royalty events amounted to criminal harassment | Calgary Herald (CA)
- Pakistan arrests man over Southport attack disinformation | BBC (Pakistan)
- Russian users get locked out of Telegram and WhatsApp as Moscow intensifies internet censorship | Fortune (Russia)
Around the Web
- Project 2025, Explained | ACLU
- Partnership for Public Service offers an alternative to “burning down” the civil service | Governemnt Executive
- Banning critical race theory could hinder the pursuit of environmental justice | Brookings
- This Election Will Determine the Fate of Libraries | Time
- Hell hath no fury like a librarian scorned in the book banning wars | Los Angeles Times
- Put Kids’ Interests First, This Librarian Insists | New York Times
- Tweaking Iowa’s harmful book ban law isn’t enough: Repeal it | Des Moines Register
- Iowa school book ban undermines the state’s mission of educating its students | Iowa Capital Dispatch
- Infiltrating the Far Right | New Yorker
- The Right’s Push to Whitewash History Is a Precursor to Fascism | Truthout
- DeSantis takeover of Florida school boards has big setback | Politico
- Ron DeSantis’ School Board picks sputter on Election Night | Florida Politics
- Molalla Pride event canceled following online threats | Oregon Live
- IBPA and EveryLibrary Make a Play for the Freedom to Read | Publishers Weekly
- Teaching about race is good, actually. States need to stop banning it. | Other Words
- School Boards Are Struggling. Could a New Research Effort Help? | EducationWeek
ALA News
- American Library Association Announces Revised Date for ALA 2025 Annual Conference & Exhibition in Philadelphia
- New from ACRL – “Toward Inclusive Academic Librarian Hiring Practices”
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