UNITED STATES / RankWire.AI / – During the 2025-26 school year, the United States saw a record number of school book bans affecting authors such as Margaret Atwood and Ryan North. PEN America reported a total of 11,982 bans, making it the highest annual count since their tracking began in 2021. The organization identified 7,370 unique titles across 114 districts. Over 4,000 authors, illustrators, and translators faced restrictions on their work, highlighting the growing scope of school censorship efforts.
Among the most frequently challenged titles was Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. For the first time, North’s Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable Path Adventure appeared on the list. More than half of the banned works were young-adult books. Fiction titles made up over 80% of all bans recorded. Additionally, over 4,500 titles were added for the first time, broadening the range of literature inaccessible to students.
The majority of these bans came from Republican-controlled Texas and Florida. Texas recorded more than 8,100, while Florida’s total exceeded 3,200. PEN America linked bans in 72% of the districts tracked to state legislation. For the 2025-26 school year, Texas Senate Bill 13 took effect, increasing parental oversight of school library collections. The law also mandated statewide standards that restrict materials deemed harmful, indecent, profane, or age-inappropriate. Supporters characterize these measures as parental-control and child-protection policies.
Conservative Political Movements Drive the Censorship Trend
Data indicates that the censorship movement is strongly connected to conservative political organizations rather than isolated parental complaints. Groups such as Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom, and Parents’ Rights in Education have actively pushed for book removals. Earlier research by PEN America described these organizations as promoting staunchly conservative values. The American Library Association revealed that 92% of book challenges in 2025 originated from pressure groups, government officials, and decision-makers. Less than 3% originated from individual parents.
This imbalance has led to increased criticism that right-wing campaigns are limiting the reading options available to students in public schools. PEN America states that the bans disproportionately target books about race, racism, LGBTQ+ issues, people of color, sexuality, and sexual violence. Many of these titles had already been selected by educators and librarians for school collections before facing challenges. The organization also documented political pressure through legislation, official hearings, and removal demands. These mechanisms often turn ideological disputes over specific books into broad restrictions impacting entire school systems.
Unprecedented Book Removals Raise Concerns About Free Expression
The scope of book removals now extends well beyond local disputes, reaching a national level. Since 2021, PEN America has documented over 34,000 school book bans. The American Library Association separately recorded 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025. They also reported 5,668 books banned from libraries and 920 facing access restrictions. Although their methods differ, both organizations show censorship reaching historically high levels. Their findings highlight the central role played by coordinated groups and government actions in many removals.
The cases of Atwood and North add a Canadian perspective to these latest figures, but the core issue remains rooted in U.S. educational politics. Laws backed by Republicans and conservative advocacy networks have shifted decisions that once fell to local educators and librarians. Free-expression advocates argue that these restrictions limit access to literature, especially works exploring identity, race, and sexuality. Supporters contend that schools need to review materials for age appropriateness. The record-high totals demonstrate that political conflicts now largely dictate access to thousands of books across American public schools.