Written by Nicolette Hoang, Senior in Carlsbad Unified Schools (April 2025)
At the end of Trump’s first term in 2020, I illustrated the piece “It is Time for Change” for the ACLU’s Art Justice Squad digital journal called the Road to Find. It depicts me, mask and all, protesting with a burning Confederate flag behind me. Then and now, I saw Trump’s presidency as a return to the times of a Confederate-like, racist, and evil society. I wanted my art to convey the necessity to vote for peace, equality, and democracy. I felt Trump’s presidency was opposite those ideals and created a threat to our society and the future of our nation. I was an 8th grader back in 2020, resisting with fellow students, and I continue this work now as a high school senior.
In the 2023-2024 school year, PEN America found 10,046 instances of individual books banned, affecting 4,231 unique titles. This includes The Handmaid’s Tale, LGBTQ+ romance and informational books alike, including the popular Red, White and Royal Blue, crucial autobiographies like The Diary of Anne Frank, and children’s books like Dr. Seuss’ Hop on Pop.
As a new Trump administration advances executive orders aligned with Project 2025, what comes next?”
Project 2025 makes major policy proposals in the education sphere–proposals that would drastically reshape American public education. It explicitly proposes dismantling the whole Department of Education, which would eliminate essential data on America’s public schools and related research and weaken the federal government’s ability to focus national attention on crucial issues related to education, such as reading and censorship, and its ability to address discrimination and equal access in education. (PEN America)
Some proposals within Project 2025 include many that would dilute public K-12 education.
- “Educators should not be forced to discuss contemporary political issues, but neither should they refrain from discussing certain subjects in an attempt to protect students from ideas with which they disagree.”
- “At the state level, states should require schools to post classroom materials online to provide maximum transparency to parents.”
- “For K–12 systems under federal authority, Congress and the next Administration should support existing state and federal civil rights laws and add to such laws a prohibition on compelled speech.”
By this, individual districts can ban/censor books that they believe are a danger to students. As seen in the book ban list, this could include The Giving Tree, for “themes of selfishness and parenting.”
Aligning with Project 2025’s plan to reshape public education by promoting book bans and restricting curricula, Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” This order directs the elimination of federal funding for educational content related to “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology.” Although Trump denied being aware of the existence of Project 2025, his recent executive order echoes the Project’s objectives to remove materials addressing LGBTQ+ topics, racial justice and history, and gender ideology.
Just as the overturning of the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade allows for states to set their own specific laws on abortion, Project 2025 proposes that the federal government has to respect–and support– whatever laws an individual state places on the K-12 systems. In many states, this could lead to increased bans on books containing topics of race, racism, BIPOC, or LGBTQ+. Some states and districts have also seen bans for books that have sexual references or discuss sexual violence.
Books required in my English classes, Fahrenheit 451, Crime and Punishment, The Giver, and more have been banned in states like Iowa and Wisconsin. As a student in California, I am grateful to have the privilege of being able to read some of my favorite books in my public high school. In September 2023, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1078 into law, which the ACLU in California supported. This bill is designed to stop book banning in California schools, taking a bold stance against the trend of book bans all over the nation, even in our Golden State. “AB 1078…reaffirms California’s dedication to fostering an inclusive, informed, and equitable educational environment. The immediate implementation of this legislation ensures that book banning no longer threatens the educational experience of California’s students.” In order for our rights as students to remain protected and align with the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, it is crucial for California legislators and political leaders to continue to pass laws that protect students from the current federal climate that threatens our abilities to learn.
The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right gives every person, every student, “the right to hear all sides of every issue…make their judgments about those issues without government interference or limitations.” As a student in the public education system, my free speech rights are protected by the First Amendment, which allows me to speak, publish, read, and view what I wish (American Library Association).
Since 2012, the ACLU has challenged book bans and restrictive policies in educational institutions and prisons nationwide. They have addressed the banning of books about LGBTQ+ families, because such censorship infringes upon First Amendment rights and deprives us of diverse perspectives. As students, we have the right to access diverse published materials in public educational environments, consistent with First Amendment protections.
In California, ACLU offices launched the FREE TO LEARN, FREE TO BE campaign to provide resources for students, parents, and teachers to protect students’ rights to be themselves and learn at school. There is a toolkit for parents and students on how to advocate for change in their school district, a guide to filing a complaint for an issue at their school, and a list of questions to ask school board candidates to learn their position on key issues on students’ civil rights and civil liberties.
#IReadBannedBooks
To view current book bans, view these sites:
PEN America index of school book bans – 2023-2024
PEN America Banned Book List 2025
