New PEN Report Examines Classroom Censorship

A new report from PEN America analyzing the current state of educational gag orders—state legislative efforts to restrict teaching about topics such as race, gender, American history, and LGBTQ+ identities in K–12 and higher education—across the United States has been released, on the eve of the next school year.

The report notes that proposed educational gag orders have increased 250% compared to 2021, and that, while most gag order bills have continued to target teaching about race, a growing number have targeted LGBTQ+ identities, among other findings. In addition to successfully implemented orders, the report also analyzes patterns among those that were introduced in 2022 and failed, or that remain pending in state legislatures at the time of publication. 

"Proponents of educational gag orders often claim that they are necessary to avoid 'indoctrination' of students. We disagree," the introduction to the report states. "The vagueness and overbreadth of these laws pose significant constitutional issues; they are hardly an effective tool. Instead, the restrictions and chilling effects of gag order laws threaten to destroy the climate of open inquiry required in free and democratic educational institutions. "