Book Bans 2025-2026 School Year Hit Record High

U.S. Public schools saw 11,982 book bans during the 2025-2026 school year. This is the highest number recorded in a single year since PEN America began tracking the data in 2021. The bans occurred across 114 school districts, also a record high for the nonprofit's annual report. The figure marks a dramatic escalation in a censorship trend that has now tallied 34,000 instances since 2021.

Texas Leads the Surge

Texas accounted for the overwhelming majority of the new bans. The state recorded between 8,000 and 9,000 removals, with a precise figure of more than 8,100. This surge stemmed directly from Texas law SB 13, passed in 2025, which bars extensive categories of books from school shelves. Florida, which had led the nation for the three previous years, recorded between 3,000 and 4,000 bans. Together, Texas and Florida saw the most book bans of any states. Across all states, bans in 72% of the districts tracked can be attributed to new state-level censorship laws.

National Impact and Trends

The scale of the bans affected a vast number of unique works and creators. PEN America found the bans impacted 7,370 individual titles. More than 4,500 of those books were titles not previously recorded by the organization, a record high for new entries. The list of newly banned works included classics like 'Jane Eyre' and popular series such as 'Tokyo Ghoul'. More than 4,000 authors, illustrators, and translators were affected. Fiction comprised more than 90% of the young adult titles subject to challenges.

Key Targets and Authors

Specific titles and authors were repeatedly targeted. The most commonly banned individual title was 'Sold' by Patricia McCormick, a young adult novel about a teen from Nepal sold into sexual servitude, which was removed 25 times. Other frequently banned books included Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale', Laurie Halse Anderson's 'Speak', John Green's 'Looking for Alaska', and Ellen Hopkins' 'Crank' and 'Identical'. For the second consecutive year, Stephen King was the author most likely to have his work withdrawn, with his books pulled 312 times. This included titles like 'The Shining' and 'The Green Mile'. Ellen Hopkins was the second most banned author, followed by Sarah J. Maas.

School district administrators increasingly relied on artificial intelligence tools to scan and flag books for removal, contributing to the expansive number of titles pulled. The American Library Association notes the top reasons for challenging books are sexually explicit content, LGBTQIA+ themes, and content related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. PEN America describes a 'Scarlett Letter' effect where an author’s entire back catalog faces removal after one specific title is banned. Kasey Meehan of PEN America stated, "When reading for pleasure is in decline across all ages, bans on popular and engaging titles are exceptionally tragic." The organization says the data signifies the continued expansion of a crisis that impedes freedom to read and cuts student access to diverse perspectives.