When COVID-19 turned schools from in-person places of learning to virtual ones, many on the far right used it as an opportunity to take advantage of the general population’s neutral feelings about public schools. People showed up to public schools demanding schools reopen. Schools were never closed, but that rhetoric had an impact — then shifted their crusade to schools needing to unmask the kids. This led to demands schools not require kids to get vaccinated since it impeded on parental rights, and while this debate helped fuel a right-wing increase on public school boards of education, so, too, did this small but vocal and well-connected group then push to eliminate rights, perspectives, and voices of any marginalized group within the schools. Trans people were an easy target, and that came through demands for bathroom policies, for sports policies, and for removal of books deemed “comprehensive sexuality [sic] education” in 2021-2023, now more frequently referred to as “gender ideology.”
None of these things were true.
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All of these things are still what we’re dealing with in 2025.
Each of these issues is related to civic engagement and knowledge and understanding of what it means to be engaged in a representative democracy. Of course there are additional factors here, including the fact we live in a country where our healthcare is connected to our jobs, and thus, any action we try to take to preserve the democratic rights of all could lead to our own real undoing — and that goes far worse for anyone who is already walking a tightrope as a marginalized individual. But it’s a really powerful example because this recent path of local-level politics is one that, for many, is too difficult to parse. For years, and even today, some have said that those who’ve pointed out this pattern are drawing lines that don’t exist.
Unfortunately, those lines are clear, and they follow patterns that have been part and parcel of extremist American democratic action since the beginning. Everything is connected, and everything is multi-tentacled.
Most American citizens get a civics education in their schooling. This will differ in terms of depth and extent depending on whether students are in public or private schools. Public schools must follow a specific framework for education, as dictated by their state education boards (with some input and guidance from the federal Department of Education). Private schools, including homeschools, have far more leeway in where and how such civics are taught. As an Illinois public high school student in the early 2000s, my civics education involved a single semester of education junior year. The curriculum was designed to prepare everyone for a test on the US Constitution, as well as to prepare for an open-book test on the Illinois Constitution. There was a small community service requirement, which was able to be completed at any time over the course of that year.
That era of U.S. public education in civics was one of change. Since 2000, the federal government has cut spending on civic education at a phenomenally concerning rate, dropping it by 90%. Students between 2000 and today saw about five cents contributed annually to civics education. Compare that to a $50 per student spend on STEM education during the same period of time. Today’s middle-aged adults, young adults, and teenagers have had some of the least funded civics education in generations. For many, the education isn’t even a semester of Civics class. It’s a series of lessons scattered throughout history courses over several years.
Nationally, standards for civics education are all over the place. Per data from the Hoover Institute in 2024, eight states have zero requirements for either a civics course of any length or any sort of test assessing student knowledge. Those are Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming. Sixteen states require only a semester class on civics and passing of a standardized exam. Sixteen additional states and the District of Columbia require either a semester or year of civics education but no standardized exam. Students must take a full year of civics and pass a civics test in Idaho, Louisiana, Virginia, and West Virginia. Neither Pennsylvania nor Wisconsin require students to take any civics course, but both require students to take a civics exam. Pennsylvania doesn’t require said exam be passed by the student. You can take a look at the requirements in your state on this handy site.
The actual content of this civics education varies widely, too, even among states that require a semester or year of class. Per analysis from the Center for American Progress in late 2019 — bear in mind this is prior to COVID — only half of the country’s civics curriculum met their standards for being robust, meaning coverage of the following:
- an explanation or comparison of democracy
- the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights
- public participation
- information on state and local voting rules and
- media literacy and the role and influence of media.
Civics education across the U.S. rarely requires community service. The above-linked report states that only Maryland and the District of Columbia require community service as part of their state civics education requirements. Interestingly, 2 out of 3 states do include media literacy in their civics courses. What that looks like will, of course, differ from state to state and even school to school in the same state. Given the media literacy crisis we face and the potential stakes for teaching mis- and dis- information threatened by this administration, it is likely this will be among the areas seeing the biggest winnowing of classroom time. Public schools are already on high alert with this administration; any place where they fear they may come close to getting on the government’s radar may be a place where they spend less, rather than more, time and effort (and who can blame them, seeing that public schools are already poorly funded and face extinction with the ongoing spate of state-level voucher schemes).
Under the Biden administration, Congress passed a bill that would increase spending on public school civic education. This was a huge win, though the outcome of said additional spending has yet to be seen. And, perhaps, its better to ask whether or not it will be seen in the long run at all. A significant part of the bill hinges on the Department of Education offering grants for such education, effective through 2027. As we know, the Department of Education is in the process of being dismantled, so such grant money may be a moot point all together.
Today’s young people, as well as the generations of young people who came before them, are not lazy, nor are they dumb. They’ve been civically engaged on any and every topic imaginable, from climate change to student rights (including so many students engaged in anti-book censorship initiatives over the last several years, some of which are highlighted here, here, and here).
But what most Americans under the age of 40 have in common right now is that they’ve been denied a robust civics education at varying levels. Much like we’ll see significant differences in critical thinking skills and literacy, as well as “soft” skills like empathy, between students who are currently growing up in states targeting libraries and books and those growing up in states working to protect their rights to access libraries and books, this is the reality we’re living in right now when it comes to civics and U.S. government. Some folks have had access to a great education and have been encouraged to use the tools at their disposal to fight for their rights. Others have never been given the opportunity at all.
This plays out in big and small ways for people of every political persuasion. There are full-grown adults who don’t understand that there are three branches of government or who think there are conspiracies abound when a local primary election only includes candidates from one political party (that is literally how a local primary works — there are too many candidates from one party in a race and the primary allows voters of that political persuasion to choose their best option). There are young people who have never been required to volunteer in their community for a few hours and see the power that their time and energy have right in their own backyard; what that volunteer time is used toward doesn’t matter, as it nearly always connects back to being in touch with some of the most underserved members or least funded institutions within a community.
With fewer opportunities to learn and practice these skills in an educational setting and beyond, the rustier they get and more easily the average person is run over by those utilizing these tools of democracy to advance their own — frequently well-funded and well-connected — agendas. This is why more than four years into an astronomical rise in book censorship, there are still people asking what it is they can do. Too often, they’re disappointed to hear that it’s the same exact list of things that it’s been since the beginning: vote in every election; know who is sitting on your local public institution boards; get your ass into board room seats and/or inbox seats; speak up and out at every opportunity; continue to sharpen your own ability to assess, understand, and distill information intended to confuse, anger, or persuade you.
All of this takes time, and all of this takes energy.
But demanding better civics education in school — something that has tremendous appeal to both those who believe the problem with today’s public schools lies in funding and those who believe the problem with today’s public schools lies in not teaching “the basics” — would make a hell of a difference. Why should kids in some states have better skills to exist in the world around them than others? Where and how can their parents help develop those skills if they themselves weren’t given the opportunity?
What civics education does is teach people that they have power and that it is part of their duty to engage with that power.
Book Censorship News: May 2, 2025
Note that for the next two weeks, this roundup will be shorter than usual because of some time constraints. These abbreviated posts represent censorship news constituting about half of a week, as opposed to a full week. We’ll be back to normal programming with the complete news roundup soon.
- “A bill has been introduced to the Texas Legislature that could result in bookstores facing fines and legal costs if they place material deemed “obscene” within access of a minor.” It was never about “curating” collections at schools, nor at public libraries. It was and is always about eradicating the voices and people who don’t fall within the narrow confines of far-right white nationalism.
- American Psycho has been banned from Cobb County, Georgia schools. Perhaps more interesting to note is this is the 36th book the district has banned since 2023.
- Radnor Schools (PA) have removed bans on three titles previously removed from the district. The un-banned titles are Gender Queer, Fun Home, and Blankets. What a waste of time, money, and resources to ban ’em in the first place.
- The amount of attention that the book bans at the Naval Academy has gotten from major press tells a whole lot about how adults have far more privilege and concern given to their needs than kids, who’ve been subject to bans just like this one since early 2021. Is it bad there are bans everywhere? Absolutely. But children are the most marginalized, maligned, and under-cared-about demographic out there.
- Australia’s censors have approved, rather than banned, Gender Queer. This has been a two+ year battle.
- A bill in Florida getting the Republicans excited would let them sexualize any books they like and then cry about the books being inappropriate, allowing for their removal.
- While North Dakota’s legislature was eager to get books banned throughout the state because of their obsession with pornography that isn’t there, the governor vetoed it.
- An Amarillo, Texas, mayoral candidate has appealed the decision of a challenge related to three books in the public library: The Bluest Eye, The Every Body Book, and Gender Queer. The library retained the first two as-is, and they moved Gender Queer from the young adult section to the adult section. The mayoral candidate appealed, demanding the books be removed–and don’t worry, she had earlier demanded the library develop an adults-only room, too. This is the public library, to be clear.
- Authors whose books are at the center of a Supreme Court case speak out about the surreal case.
- Penfield Central School District (NY) will not be removing three books that were challenged, including The Rainbow Parade, which led to an absolutely ridiculous school board meeting from the so-called “concerned about the kids” contingent.
- The Redlands, California, school district was too busy banning trans athletes from sports to get to their book ban policies at this month’s meeting, so look for that in May.
- I’ve written at length about the legal cases libraries trying to “find solutions” to “naughty” books will face if they do things like, oh, label LGBTQ+ books. Looks like Christian County libraries (MO) realized this would be a problem and are looking for alternate solutions. Here’s one: leave the books as they are and reexamine your own bigotry.
- Pennsylvania’s Warren County Library looks like it’s being taken over by those who’ve decided to eat up the rhetoric about naughty books.
- This story is paywalled, but it looks at the host of new bills in Arkansas that the Fayetteville Public Library is trying to navigate (pretty much all of them relate to LGBTQ+ people).
- A former library director in Wyoming can proceed in her lawsuit against the library board for discrimination and retaliation.
- “Cy-Fair ISD, the third-largest school district in Texas with nearly 120,000 students, made headlines last year for an unprecedented curriculum decision. The school board voted to remove 13 chapters from state-approved textbooks. The excluded chapters cover topics that include global warming, diversity, and vaccines — subjects some consider fundamental to a modern education.” Sigh.
- A 10th circuit court appeals judge has denied the request by Elizabeth School District (CO) to keep books banned in the district off shelves. You may remember that last month, the district was ordered to return the books, and this decision is from the appeal of that one. In other words, the district’s still in the wrong.
- Despite state funding being withheld for not bowing to local book banners, Fairhope Public Library (AL) will keep two of the challenged books in the teen section where they belong.
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post about the literary events that should be on your calendar for the rest of 2025. From awards announcements to famous authors’ birthdays to Banned Books Week, these are the dates readers should have on their radars. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
The Most Anticipated Literary Events of (the Rest of) 2025
For some, the major literary events of the year come as a pleasant or interesting surprise—something to enjoy in the moment, rather than to anticipate. For others, there’s big appeal in bookmarking these occasions in advance to plan, predict, and build around. I and the rest of the editorial team are in the business of thinking ahead about what the year has in store for book lovers, publishers, industry experts, and the like, which is why we all got together toward the end of 2024 to plot out everything from birthdays of literary greats, to anniversaries of books that have made a deep cultural impact, to literary awards and events coming up this year. We’ve been marking these events as they happen on the site for what’s shaping up to be a very busy year in books, but there are still so many big, exciting literary events of 2025 to anticipate.
Whether you’re a book-focused or -adjacent content creator, someone who beefs up their TBR with literary awards honorees, or a book lover who appreciates being in the know, I’m here with a starting place for calendaring out the rest of this storied year…
Sign up to become an All Access member for only $6/month and then click here to read the full, unlocked article. Level up your reading life with All Access membership and explore a full library of exclusive bonus content, including must-reads, deep dives, and reading challenge recommendations.