The Battle Over Books: The Rise of Book Bans and Challenges in Schools

When Schools Ban Books, Your Rights May Be at Risk—Know Where You Stand

Parents of school-age children have the right to request that certain books or educational materials not be assigned to their child. However, sometimes a book might be removed from a child’s study not by a parent’s or teacher’s decision, but by the school or district. These decisions to remove books from libraries or coursework are often referred to as book bans or challenges. When schools, school boards, or even state departments of education remove books—especially for partisan or other non-education-related reasons—it can violate the constitutional rights of parents and children to access information in a public setting.

Please note that these rights do not extend to private education. But if a decision is made at the state, district, or school level to deprive students of ideas simply because the government deems them too controversial, particularly for non-educational reasons, let Meriwether Law know, and let’s see if we can help.