Authors Against Book Bans has responded after the Department of Education dismissed complaints about book bans. The group, which is populated by authors and others passionate about freedom of speech, published a statement last week.
“Today, the Department of Education announced plans to dismiss eleven outstanding complaints against book bans, and to eliminate the position of Book Ban Coordinator at the Office of Civil Rights (OCR),” the group shared last Friday (Jan. 24). “This distortion of the intended work of the OCR – the protection of civil rights and students’ freedoms in our nation’s schools – is negligent, grossly un-American, and in direct conflict with freedom of speech, a bedrock enshrined in the Constitution.”
The U.S. Department of Education dismissed 11 complaints regarding book bans that were filed during the Biden administration. According to the department’s website,
“On Jan. 20, 2025, incoming OCR leadership initiated a review of alleged ‘book banning’ cases pending at the department. Attorneys quickly confirmed that books are not being ‘banned,’ but that school districts, in consultation with parents and community stakeholders, have established commonsense processes by which to evaluate and remove age-inappropriate materials. Because this is a question of parental and community judgment, not civil rights, OCR has no role in these matters.”
Restricting access to books in school libraries and classrooms has aggressively risen in the United States since 2021. Studies show trends that lean towards banning or restricting books written by or about people of color and those in the LBGTQ+ community more often than books written by or about individuals not in these classifications.
“Authors Against Book Bans unequivocally stands against all such attempts at censorship and discrimination,” the activist group shared on Friday. “We stand with families, students, and educators across the country who exercise free speech every time they open a book, and with the 71% of Americans who are opposed to book bans. Book bans do not protect children; history teaches us that they are a terrifying step toward tyranny.”