Texas District Cancels Visit By Kids’ Author Chris Barton Over Book’s Mention of LGBTQIA+ People | San Antonio Current
Alamo Heights (TX) Independent School District parents are voicing anger after the district canceled a visit by a children’s author whose nonfiction book about the history of glitter and plastic mentioned LGBTQIA+ people and was deemed in violation of Texas’s anti-DEI law.

Austin-based writer Chris Barton was invited to speak to 1,600 students at Alamo Heights ISD’s Cambridge and Woodbridge elementary schools this month. Although he’d visited the district in 2018, officials put the brakes on this year’s trip after three parents complained about his book Glitter Everywhere! Where It Came From, Where It’s Found & Where It’s Going.

Barton was asked to “provide assurances” he would not refer to gender identity, sexual orientation, or “his book that has the term ‘LGBTQ+’” in it, according to the district spokesperson. The author would not agree to the terms.

On his website, Barton said the restriction would not only take away his ability to mention the book when he talked about nonfiction writing, as he planned, but would also limit his ability to answer children’s questions.

“For instance, should students ask during Q+A which is my most recent nonfiction book, or which book of mine required the most research, my reply would be Glitter Everywhere!” he wrote, adding that agreeing to the ask went against his principles.

Iowa's Law Restricting School Library Books and LGBTQIA+ Topics Returns to Federal Court | Iowa Public Radio
The appeals court heard arguments in two cases challenging the legality of Iowa’s Senate File 496, which bans books with sexual content in school libraries and restricts lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation in K–6 classrooms. The law, passed in 2023, already faced setbacks, with federal rulings blocking enforcement of many of its provisions.

California District School Board To Reconsider Decision To Block Popular Novel | KSRO
An emotional crowd filled the Windsor (CA) Unified School Board meeting, calling on trustees to reverse their decision to block a popular novel from the high school curriculum.

The Press Democrat reports more than a dozen students, parents, and teachers spoke in support of English teacher Julie Forrest, who requested to teach Neal Shusterman’s dystopian novel Scythe. Last month, the board rejected the book in a 3 to 2 vote, citing concerns over its violent content. Supporters, however, called the move “censorship” and expressed deep trust in Forrest’s professional judgment.

Board President Rich Carnation denied that the book was banned, noting it remains in the school library. He stated the board’s primary concern was whether the book should be a required reading given its potential “triggers” for students.

Utah Evaluates School Library Oversight as Books Are Removed | KUTV
Utah’s public school book policies are under review as the state faces a lawsuit and additional titles are removed from school library shelves. The discussion intensified this month after three additional books—Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult—were removed this month under a state law governing “sensitive material” in schools. A new review from the Utah Office of the Legislative Auditor General is also adding to questions about oversight, consistency, and accountability in the process.

Tennessee secretary of state doubts books will be removed after library review request | NewsChannel 5
The Tennessee secretary of state requested age-appropriateness review of children's sections in all 181 public libraries. He said some books will likely be moved out of the children's section, but does not expect any books to be removed.

Author and Children's Show Producer Brad Meltzer On “Book Bans,” Empathy, and “Cruel Culture” | WUSF
In 2023, Meltzer’s book I Am Billie Jean King was challenged by a Leon County parent who believed it to be developmentally inappropriate because it referenced sexual orientation. The school board ultimately voted to keep the book on the library shelves.

Ohio Business Gives Access to Banned Books with Monthly Subscription Service | Spectrum News 1
Banned Books Box is a monthly subscription service that sends two banned books a month to its subscribers.

Is Educational Book on Animal Sex Too Much for Middle School? Florida District Gives It the OK | Fox 35 Orlando
Do Animals Fall in Love?, a children’s book about how animals attack mates, reproduce, and care for their young, will remain on the shelves after a divided school board vote.

Reimagining the Schoolhouse Gate: Children’s Right to Receive Information in the Age of Curriculum Censorship | Harvard Law Review
The First Amendment protects the individual—not the family unit—and students possess a meaningful constitutional right to encounter diverse ideas, a right central to their emergence as civic participants in a democratic society.