Pennsylvania school districts have banned at least 459 books this school year, more than districts in every state other than Texas and Florida, according to the literacy advocacy group PEN America.
The subjects most banned are race and gender identity. But the bans are not solely the result of parents’ activism. The bans often are part of an orchestrated national effort. PEN America detailed, for example, advocacy by the Florida-based group Moms for Liberty, which has chapters in 23 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
The report found that, by the end of June, 138 school districts in 32 states had banned 2,532 books by 1,261 authors, 290 illustrators and 18 translators. The districts include 5,049 schools with a combined enrollment of nearly 4 million students.
In Pennsylvania, the Central York School District alone has banned more than 400 books. Other Pennsylvania districts that have banned books include East Stroudsburg Area, Downingtown Area, Eastern Lancaster County, Elizabethtown Area, Fairview, Franklin Regional, Kutztown Area, North Penn, Pennridge and Wissahickon.
Pennsylvania adheres to the American tradition of localized school administration, paying for epic inefficiency to do so. The state has 500 school districts.
That also adheres to the philosophy of conservative majorities of the state Legislature, which favor local governance. They should consider how school districts contradict that philosophy by rolling over for nationally orchestrated book-ban campaigns — often over the protests of local teachers and students.
State Rep. Christopher M. Raab of Philadelphia plans a bill that would guarantee public vetting of book bans. It would require a board to conduct two public hearings before voting to ban a book, with mandatory participation by the state Department of Education. The process would require independent moderators, and testimony from professionals with knowledge of the subject book’s content.
The bill wouldn’t prevent any board from banning any book. It would force them to identify those agitating for a ban, and explain how such censorship would advance the education of district students.
Lawmakers of both parties should vote for that open process.
— The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre via TNS
