This Week in Book Challenges: January 15, 2025

By Philomena Polefrone - January 14, 2025

Book challenge tracking for January 8, 2025 through January 14, 2025:

In Minnesota, Rochester schools removed a book (against the committee’s recommendation) over light nudity.
In Oklahoma, Edmond Public Schools bucked State Superintendent Ryan Walters, unanimously voting to keep a book he told them to remove.
In Oregon, the Josephine County Board of Commissioners voted to terminate the lease of the Grants Pass library branch, which has been targeted in the past; many question the move’s legality.
In Pennsylvania, serial book-banners on the Pine-Richland School District Board are considering a new book ban policy criticized by many parents and the superintendent.
In South Carolina, the State Board of Education voted to remove four more books from all schools; “coincidentally,” three feature LGBTQ+ themes.
In Tennessee, Rutherford County banned six more books and restricted four.
In Texas, Katy Independent School District was caught directing its librarians to steer students away from over 400 LGBTQ+ books.
And in Wisconsin, books-through-bars programs are struggling to work with the Department of Correction’s ban on used books.