UNITED STATES / RankWire.AI / – During a historic year for book removals, U.S. school bans affected authors from Canada such as Margaret Atwood and Ryan North. PEN America reported that 11,982 books were banned in the 2025-26 school year, marking the highest annual total since monitoring began in 2021. The organization identified 7,370 distinct titles across 114 districts, with over 4,000 authors, illustrators, and translators affected, illustrating the growing scope of censorship in schools.
The book The Handmaid’s Tale by Atwood remained among the most frequently banned titles in this latest report. Meanwhile, North’s Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable Path Adventure appeared in the index for the first time. Titles aimed at young adults constituted more than half of all banned books. Fiction comprised over 80% of the recorded bans. Additionally, more than 4,500 titles were added to the index for the first time, broadening the variety of literature removed from student access.
The majority of these bans were concentrated in Texas and Florida, states led by Republican officials. Texas recorded more than 8,100 bans, while Florida surpassed 3,200. PEN America linked bans in 72% of the districts tracked to legislation enacted at the state level. For example, Texas Senate Bill 13, which took effect for the 2025-26 academic year, expanded parental oversight of school library collections and established statewide standards to restrict materials deemed harmful, indecent, profane, or inappropriate for age. Proponents describe these policies as parental-control and child-protection measures.
Conservative influence drives the censorship movement
Historical data indicates that the censorship push is strongly connected to conservative political activism rather than sporadic parental complaints. Organizations such as Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom, and Parents’ Rights in Education have actively campaigned for book removals. Earlier research by PEN America characterized these groups as promoting firmly conservative values. The American Library Association revealed that 92% of book challenges in 2025 originated from pressure groups, government officials, and decision-makers, with fewer than 3% coming directly from individual parents.
This disparity has intensified criticism that right-wing efforts are narrowing the range of reading materials accessible to students in public schools. PEN America reports that bans disproportionately target works related to race, racism, LGBTQ+ issues, people of color, sexuality, and sexual violence. Many of these titles had been previously selected by educators and librarians for school collections before facing challenges. The group also documented the influence of political pressure through legislation, hearings, and removal demands, which can escalate ideological disputes over specific books into broader restrictions affecting entire school districts.
Unprecedented censorship levels raise concerns over free expression
The national scope of book bans now exceeds isolated local disputes. Since 2021, PEN America has documented over 34,000 bans in schools nationwide. The American Library Association separately identified 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, along with 5,668 books removed from libraries and 920 subjected to access restrictions. Despite differing methodologies, both organizations report censorship at unprecedented levels, with evidence pointing to coordinated efforts by organizations and government bodies playing a significant role in many of these removals.
While Atwood and North’s work introduce a Canadian dimension, the core issue remains rooted in U.S. education politics. Conservative-backed laws and advocacy networks have transformed decisions traditionally made by 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 vet materials for age appropriateness. The record-high totals illustrate how political conflicts now influence access to thousands of books in American public schools.