Politics · United States · 1 hr ago
US school book bans hit a record, including Japanese manga
US schools recorded 11,982 book-ban instances during the 2025-26 academic year, according to PEN America.
That was up from 6,870 the previous year and the highest total since the group began tracking bans in 2021-22.
Texas and Florida had the most cases, with 8,193 and 3,212 instances respectively.
A Texas law that took effect in September 2025 gave school district boards responsibility for choosing library collections and is believed to have contributed to the increase.
Books about LGBTQ+ people and people of color are among those targeted, along with works considered to contain violence or sexual content.
Banned titles include popular Japanese manga, such as “Fire Force,” “Attack on Titan” and “Inuyasha.”
The bans can limit students’ access to different views and voices, and the number of instances counts repeated bans of the same book across different districts.
U.S. public schools recorded 11,982 instances of book bans during the 2025-26 academic year, according to PEN America.
That was up from 6,870 instances the previous year and was the highest total since the group began tracking bans in 2021-22.
The bans covered 7,370 distinct books after duplicates were excluded.
Texas and Florida recorded the most instances, with 8,193 and 3,212, respectively.
Japanese manga including “Attack on Titan,” “Fire Force” and “Inuyasha” were among the targeted titles.
- Who
- U.S. public schools and school districts banned books; PEN America reported the figures.
- What
- There were 11,982 instances of book bans, covering 7,370 distinct books.
- When
- The academic year from July 2025 to June 2026.
- Where
- Public schools across the United States, with the highest figures in Texas and Florida.
- Why
- The sources say books were targeted for content including violence, sexual depictions, LGBTQ+ people and people of color. They also describe conservative pressure to ban books viewed as problematic.
Conservative advocates for book bans
PEN America
Books viewed as problematic
Conservative advocates for book bans
Conservative efforts have pressured schools to ban books they consider problematic.
PEN America
PEN America said bans restrict students’ access to a diversity of views, voices, perspectives and literature.
A Texas law took effect that leaves decisions on school library collections to district boards of education.
Public schools recorded 11,982 instances of book bans during the academic year.
- Ban instances
- 11,982 during the 2025-26 academic year
- Distinct books
- 7,370, excluding duplicates
- Previous-year instances
- 6,870
- Texas
- 8,193 ban instances
- Florida
- 3,212 ban instances
- Targeted manga
- Fire Force,” “Attack on Titan” and “Inuyasha
What people are saying
Book bans impede the freedom to read, cutting students' access to a diversity of views, voices, perspectives, and literature they deserve to encounter.