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Public schools are often a place where parents’ ideas of what’s best for their children can collide with public policy, and school librarians, teachers and administrators often find themselves on the front lines of these disputes.
That’s what’s been happening in Florida since 2023, when the state enacted a law that allowed residents who considered a book in a public school library obscene or pornographic to have it removed immediately, pending a public hearing. Last month, a federal judge struck down parts of the law, ruling they are unconstitutional and violate students’ First Amendment right of free access to ideas.
“This is an important ruling on censorship in a time when many states are passing or debating similar laws,” writes James Blasingame, a professor of English at Arizona State University, who teaches his students – all expecting to be future English teachers – about the history of censorship in the U.S.
Blasingame walks us through the key legal decisions around censorship, what it means for Florida schools – and why organizations seeking book bans around the country are closely watching this case.
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Katie Flood
Contributing Editor
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Some school librarians in Florida have found themselves in the midst of controversy over complaints of “obscene” titles in their libraries.
Trish233/iStock via Getty Images
James B. Blasingame, Arizona State University
A federal judge found a Florida law censoring school library books violates students’ First Amendment rights.
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Arts + Culture
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Jeffrey H. Cohen, The Ohio State University
Long stereotyped as food for the poor, the local delicacy’s gastronomical stature has grown as foodies flock to Oaxaca, Mexico, to sample the crunchy snack.
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Ethics + Religion
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Tazeen M. Ali, Washington University in St. Louis
Post 9/11, brown and sometimes Black Muslim characters were portrayed as ‘good’ only when aligned with US state power. Muslim filmmakers are trying to change that.
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Science + Technology
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Ari Koeppel, Dartmouth College
A planetary scientist walks through the sensors and systems that went into the recent detection of potential biosignatures.
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Tom Anchordoquy, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
As it does with other pathogens, your immune system sees drugs as foreign invaders to be expelled from your body. But exploiting this process could reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.
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Politics + Society
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Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Boise State University
The First Amendment is not just about the right to speak without fear of jail. It’s also about ensuring that government cannot punish speech indirectly by threatening livelihoods and institutions.
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Environment + Energy
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Michael Oxman, Georgia Institute of Technology
Even fossil fuel companies have found that clean energy can reduce costs.
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Health + Medicine
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Zachary W. Schulz, Auburn University
Public health calls many deaths ‘preventable,’ but that term can mask how policy, access and geography shape who gets care – and who doesn’t.
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Jonathan E. Cohen, University of Southern California
To achieve global health for the future, the leadership must come not only from the US.
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International
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Bernard Loesi, University of Washington
Security crackdowns may miss the root cause of radicalization.
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