Overview

• In the 2024–25 school year, PEN America documented 6,870 book-ban instances across 23 states and 87 districts, affecting 3,752 titles.
• Florida recorded 2,304 bans, with Texas at 1,781 and Tennessee at 1,622, placing the three states at the top of PEN America’s tally.
• PEN reports that removals disproportionately target works about race and LGBTQ+ identities, often labeled as sexual content to justify restrictions.
• PEN identified 590 books removed from Department of Defense Education Activity schools on military bases, citing reliance on Trump-era executive orders and noting a pending lawsuit.
• The new most-banned list places A Clockwork Orange at No. 1 and shows a strong tilt toward Young Adult titles, while PEN also notes public pushback in 70 of 87 affected districts.