As the battle over allowing certain classroom curricula continues into 2025, two opposing groups shared milestones and failures from the past year regarding explicit books in the classroom.
The debate over what kinds of books should be allowed in school libraries has roiled school board meetings for years, with those critical of sexually explicit material saying it has no place in taxpayer-funded schools. Their opponents, however, say such moderation is synonymous with censorship and book bans.
There were over 10,000 instances of book removals in 2024, according to Suzanne Trimel, senior advisor for communications media for PEN America, an advocacy organization that stands against efforts to remove books from libraries.
