• 6,870 book bans recorded in U.S. schools during the 2024-2025 academic year.
• PEN America warns of a “disturbing normalization of censorship” in public education.
• Florida leads in book bans, with major titles including "A Clockwork Orange" and "Breathless" among the most challenged.
• The federal government has become involved, affecting materials related to race and LGBTQ+ issues.
• Public pressure has led to preemptive bans, limiting students’ access to diverse reads.

PEN America reported that book bans in U.S. public schools have reached unprecedented levels, with a total of 6,870 bans documented during the 2024-2025 academic year. Although this represents a decrease from the previous year's 10,046 bans, it is still significantly higher than the annual average of fewer than 3,000 from the prior two years, indicating a troubling trend towards censorship in schools, described by the organization as a "disturbing normalization of censorship," according to NPR and India Times.

The state of Florida has been identified as having the highest incidence of book bans, totaling 2,304 instances, followed by Texas and Tennessee with 1,781 and 1,622 bans, respectively. The Pink Pearl Strikes, which focuses on supporting students' access to reading materials, emphasized that this recent surge reflects a coordinated effort to restrict access to literature, including books about race and LGBTQ+ themes, according to ABC News.

The report highlights notable books such as A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Sold by Patricia McCormick, and Breathless by Jennifer Niven, which have frequently faced challenges. Prominent authors such as Stephen King, Ellen Hopkins, and Sarah J. Maas were named among the most banned, reflecting a broader trend wherein "books featuring LGBTQ+ themes were also frequently challenged," including picture books like And Tango Makes Three, according to NPR, India Times, and ABC News.

The report further indicates that the federal government has stepped into the fray, influencing the landscape of book bans significantly. Under recent executive orders, nearly 600 titles were removed from Department of Defense schools. These actions echo a broader agenda toward restricting discussions about race and LGBTQ+ issues in educational settings, as articulated by PEN America and corroborated by concerns raised in recent government statements, according to NPR and India Times.

PEN America asserts that this systemic removal of books marks an alarming trend, with the cumulative number of book bans surging to nearly 23,000 cases across 45 states since 2021. This trajectory of censorship, led by advocacy groups with conservative viewpoints, is akin to historical periods of censorship in American history, highlighting concerns about the effects of policy decisions and local pressures on educational materials, according to ABC News.