Nearly 300 books banned in Missouri since August, PEN America says

Story at a glance A new report from PEN America, a nonprofit that works to protect freedom of expression, found that close to 300 books have been b...

November 16, 2022
10:34 PM

Story at a glance A new report from PEN America, a nonprofit that works to protect freedom of expression, found that close to 300 books have been banned across 11 Missouri school districts since August. The bans are in response to a newly enacted state law that makes distributing 'explicit sexual material' to minors a class A misdemeanor. And while there are exceptions in the law for material used in sexual education courses or that have artistic significance, educational and historical books are still being ripped from shelves.

Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech