Intellectual Freedom Center

All students have the right to materials and educational experiences that promote open inquiry, critical thinking, diversity in thought and expression, and respect for others.

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Intellectual Freedom Center

Banned Books Week

 

NCTE’s Support for the Students’ Right to Read

NCTE Actively Began Fighting Censorship in the 1950’s 
McCarthyism spurred NCTE to take a more active stance against censorship and in 1953, NCTE’s Committee on Censorship of Teaching Materials published Censorship and Controversy, condemning McCarthy’s tactics and championing freedom of thought. In 1962 NCTE published its seminal intellectual freedom guideline: The Students’ Right to Read leading up to today’s active Anti-Censorship program which works with 60-100 educators and school districts a year on challenges to texts used in classrooms.

 

Find Your Freedom to Read During Annual Celebration of Right to Read!

Take part in Banned Books Week, September 27 – October 3, 2020.

Banned Books Week has been shining a light on censorship since it was founded in 1982, and the fight for free expression is as urgent as ever.

NCTE is a co-sponsor of this year’s celebration and invites its members to: Find Our Freedom to Read.

As the attacks on the right to read escalate, a celebration of reading is needed now more than ever. BBWC is here to support the community of readers, including students, educators, libraries, and booksellers, in the United States and abroad. Please join us during Banned Books Week, September 27-October 3, 2020!

BBWC will make programming materials and resources available in the coming weeks. Be sure to visit bannedbooksweek.org or follow us on Twitter to get the latest Banned Books Week and censorship news.

Learn more about the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2019 and the challenges facing America’s libraries.

 

For decades, NCTE has worked with schools and educators on challenges to literary works, films and videos, drama productions, and other texts. Since 2004, NCTE has given advice, shared helpful documents, written letters of support, and/or testified in over 250 challenges to texts. Check the list of challenged books NCTE has handled over the last nine years.  If you are facing a challenge, please consult the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center to contact NCTE.