Jeremy Young

2 months ago | pen.org | Jeremy Young |Kristen Shahverdian |Sabrina Baêta |Samantha LaFrance

Picture books featuring gay or transgender characters or naked butts — human or otherwise — were among the most frequently banned in U.S. public schools in the 2023-2024 school year. PEN America counted more than 10,000 book bans in the 2023-2024 school year affecting more than 4,000 unique titles, with about 45% of the bans occurring in Florida and 36% in Iowa. Most bans targeted young adult or adult titles, but about 2% of bans were of picture books for the youngest readers.

Nov 26, 2024 | newsweek.com | Jeremy Young

CLOSE X Share✓ Link copied to clipboard! For the past four years, there have been compelling reasons for public college presidents to keep their mouths shut about the epidemic of government-mandated ideological censorship that has targeted higher education. Public restraint may still make sense in some cases. But with threats to colleges and universities escalating and evolving, and likely to grow still greater in the aftermath of this month's election, the time for private quiescence is over.

Sep 16, 2024 | pen.org | Samantha LaFrance |Jeremy Young

When school was out of session this summer, dozens of high school students flocked to classrooms in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles for PEN America Free Expression Advocacy Institutesthat taughtthem to think critically about issues ranging from the ethics of storytelling to disinformation defense. “We’re the next generation,” said Tessa, one of the students at the New York City institute. “We’re someday going to be shaping our democracy.

Aug 7, 2024 | insidehighered.com | Jeremy Young

You have /5 articles left. Sign up for a free account or log in. Afif Ahsan/iStock/Getty Images PlusHotbeds for indoctrination and discrimination against white students. Places that bloat administrative costs. These are only a few of the criticisms that conservatives have leveled against campus centers for diversity, equity and inclusion, which are now under threat as lawmakers have passed draconian bans on DEI programming in states including Florida, Iowa, Texas and Utah.

Jun 24, 2024 | pen.org | Jeffrey Sachs |Jeremy Young |Erica Galluscio

This post is part of a series from PEN America tracking the progress of educational gag orders and censorious legislative efforts against educational institutions nationwide. These bills are tracked in the PEN America Index of Educational Gag Orders. The 2024 state legislative sessions have featured some of the most significant and effective resistance to efforts to pass higher education censorship bills that we have seen in recent years.