Nearly 12,000 US School Book Bans Recorded in 2025-26
PEN America recorded 11,982 school book bans in the US during 2025-26, with titles ranging from Jane Eyre and The Handmaid’s Tale to Tokyo Ghoul affected by removals.
US schools recorded 11,982 book bans during the 2025-26 academic year, according to PEN America, marking the highest annual total documented by the organisation. The restrictions affected 7,370 unique titles and more than 4,000 authors, illustrators and translators.
Texas accounted for more than 8,100 removals, overtaking Florida as the state with the highest number of recorded bans. PEN America linked the increase partly to Texas Senate Bill 13, which introduced new rules governing certain school library materials.
More than 4,500 titles were reportedly banned for the first time during the academic year. The affected books included literary classics such as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Stephen King’s works and the manga series Tokyo Ghoul.
Stephen King was the most frequently targeted author for the second consecutive year, with his books involved in 312 removal instances, according to the report.
The report also highlighted the growing use of AI tools to screen books for potentially restricted content. PEN America said such technology, combined with new state-level regulations, could be contributing to the rise in removals.
The debate remains divided between concerns over student access to diverse perspectives and arguments for greater parental and school control over reading material. Apparently, even Jane Eyre now needs to survive the content-review era.
