This Week in Book Challenges

Here is an update on the latest book challenges for the week of January 24, 2024

• Billings, MT school district narrowly votes to keep challenged book

• Bondurant School District, IA removes 17 books

• Catawba County, NC sees "l8r, g8r" and "The Carnival at Bray” challenges; hearings to be scheduled

• Cobb County, GA superintendent, with hat-tip to Marietta, vows to ban the same books

• Idaho book ban bill, HB 384, is withdrawn to committee after heroic display from organizers; new bill forthcoming

• Lexington-Richland 5, SC removes kids graphic novel about King Tut pending review, for some reason

• Lorain County, OH school board votes 9-2 to keep “Looking for Alaska"

• North Attleboro, MA school board bans kids poetry collection by women of color; protests by city council member and others see book returned to shelves

• Ozark Dale County, AL library board narrowly avoids worsening book review policy, considers more bans at behest of board member who threatened to burn LGBTQ+ books

• Tampa, FL school district considers ban of “Identical” following appeal

• Utah HB 29, which would turn 3 local bans into state ban, leaves committee with recommendation to pass

• Winston Salem/Forsyth, NC makes sensible changes to book challenge policy (linked policy approved by 6-3 vote week of 1/15/24)

• Yorkville, IL school board considers releasing alleged secret book ban meeting transcript as ordered by state AG