Brittany Wong via HuffPost:

‘It’s Banned Books Week, and the stakes have never been higher: According to PEN America, a staggering 11,982 book bans were recorded nationwide during the 2025–26 school year — the highest single-year total ever documented.

Texas and Florida are leading the charge when it comes to censorship: Fueled by state legislation like Senate Bill 13, which increased local school board control over library collections, Texas had 8,193 book bans across multiple school districts. Florida, meanwhile, had 3,212 book bans, driven by state-level pressure campaigns and enforcement from the Department of Education and attorney general.

Many of the titles that conservative parents and right-wing lawmakers are targeting deal with issues of racial diversity and LGBTQ+ identity….’