A new report from PEN America sheds light on a concerning trend in education across the United States. According to the report, there has been a dramatic escalation in book bans, with over 4,000 instances recorded in the first half of the 2023-2024 school year alone. This marks a stark increase from the previous year and signals an unprecedented wave of censorship in public schools. These bans, spanning across 42 states, have disproportionately targeted books dealing with sexual violence, LGBTQ+ themes, and racial issues. PEN America attributes the rise in censorship efforts to the misuse of obscenity laws and inflammatory rhetoric, labeling educational materials as "pornographic" or inappropriate for young readers. Despite the grim outlook, resistance against these bans is growing. Students, educators, and authors across the country are mobilizing, forming coalitions to challenge the bans in court and organizing public demonstrations and read-ins. In Connecticut, over 100 students marched to protest the removal of LGBTQ+ books from their school libraries. On Tuesday, during a press call hosted by PEN America, Kasey Meehan, the program director for Freedom to Read, revealed the latest discoveries from their report. Meehan clarified that these bans, propelled by state legislation, frequently zero in on books discussing LGBTQ+ matters and racial topics. Reagan Miller, the director of development for Florida Freedom to Read, addressed parallel concerns in Florida. #Queer Up Education