Utah bans 13 books from schools, including popular ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ series, under new law – Associated Press

This photo shows the Utah State Capitol on March 14, 2013, in Salt Lake City.

Thirteen popular books have been banned from all Utah public schools in the first wave of bans expected under a new law that prohibits books when at least three of the state’s 41 school district boards say they contain pornographic or indecent material.

According to PEN America, a free speech organization that tracks book banning across the United States, allowing only a few districts to make statewide decisions makes the law one of the most lenient on book banning in the United States.

The state board of education this month released its first list of banned books, which includes a popular young adult novel series by author Sarah J. Maas called “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and books by Judy Blume and Margaret Atwood. The state’s two largest school districts, which are in conservative parts of the state, led the charge to ban the books. The Davis School District voted to ban all 13 books on the list, while the Alpine School District banned seven of them, including Maas’ series.

The books are still available in public libraries.

Utah’s actions come amid a renewed push in recent years to ban more books by conservatives across the country despite concerns from free speech advocates and some educators and parents.

“The state’s banned books list will impose a dystopian censorship regime in public schools and, in many cases, will directly contravene local preferences,” said Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America.

“Allowing just a handful of districts to make decisions for the entire state is undemocratic, and we are concerned that implementation of the law will result in less diverse library shelves for all Utahns,” Meehan said.

At least three more states — Tennessee, Idaho and South Carolina — are moving toward putting state government in the business of banning books, rather than leaving the matter in the hands of local communities, PEN America said.

Under Tennessee law, a complaint filed by an individual with a school board could be escalated to a textbook commission, which could ban the book from school libraries statewide if the commission finds the book is not appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students.

Idaho law requires school and public libraries to move material deemed “harmful to minors” to an adult-only section or face lawsuits. The new law uses Idaho’s current definition of “obscene material,” which includes any act of homosexuality.

The Utah law went into effect July 1 and requires school districts to report to the Utah Board of Education which books they have banned from their school libraries that fit the criteria set out in the new law. More books are likely to be added, Meehan said.

Two books by Ellen Hopkins are also on Utah’s list, and all but one of the banned books are by female authors.

“One trend we’re seeing across the country is this suppression of books that describe and discuss sex, that share stories of sexual violence, often against women,” as well as issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and people of color, Meehan said.

Under law, public school libraries must dispose of the books, which cannot be sold or distributed, the state said.

“Books need to be thrown in the trash,” Meehan said. “I think that’s an alarming picture of the current situation.”

Only a member of the Utah Board of Education can appeal by asking the full board to hold a hearing within 30 days of a book being placed on the banned list and then vote on whether to overturn the ban. So far, no appeals have been filed, said Sharon Turner, spokeswoman for the Utah Board of Education.

Natalie Cline, who sits on the board, is pleased with the move but said the list of banned books is too short. Cline is an outgoing board member who lost a Republican primary this year after questioning the gender of a high school basketball player.

“Removing just those 13 books when there are hundreds more that are just as explicit and that also need to go is problematic,” Cline said, adding that tests of literary value in books are “absurd” and “subjective.”

Cline added that all sexually explicit content, even in science or medical classes allowed by the new law, should be kept out of elementary and secondary schools, citing the state’s penal code.

Another board member, Carol Lear, thinks the new law is authoritarian in allowing the concerns of some parents to determine the decisions of other parents across the state.

“I don’t think saying that parents should have the right to choose with their children what they want to read makes me pro-pornography,” Lear said, adding that there are other, less restrictive options, such as parents being notified of what books their children check out from the library.

Across the country, book challenges and bans have reached the highest levels in decades. Public and school libraries have been inundated with complaints from community members and conservative organizations like Moms for Liberty. Increasingly, lawmakers are considering new punishments — crippling lawsuits, steep fines and even prison — for distributing books some deem inappropriate.

The trend comes as authorities seek to define terms like “obscene” and “harmful.” Many of the conflicts involve materials that feature racial and/or LGBTQ+ themes, such as Toni Morrison’s novel “The Bluest Eye” and Maia Kobabe’s memoir “Gender Queer.” And while no librarians or educators have been jailed, the threat alone has led to increased self-censorship. Already this year, lawmakers in more than 15 states have introduced bills to impose harsh penalties on libraries or librarians.

Some Republicans are calling for nationwide sanctions and restrictions. In the foreword to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a possible second Donald Trump administration, Kevin Roberts, president of the right-wing group, wrote that “people who produce and distribute pornography should be jailed. Educators and public librarians who distribute it should be classified as registered sex offenders.”