In the past few years, there have been a surge in new state
laws, administrative actions and lawsuits relating to banning
certain books in elementary, middle and high school, particularly
those having sexual content or are deemed as inappropriate or
vulgar. These laws often implicate constitutional concerns under
the First and Fourteenth amendments.
Meanwhile, Illinois, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Maryland,
Vermont, Washington and New Jersey have passed anti-book ban laws,
which prohibit the removal of books in libraries that receive state
funding for partisan or discriminatory reasons.
The U.S. Supreme Court addressed the legality of book bans in
Board of Education, Island Trees Union
Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853
(1982) in a plurality decision. In that case, the school district
sought to remove several books from public schools that were deemed
by the school board to be "anti-American, anti-Christian,
anti-Semitic, and just plain
