This is National Banned Book Week (Oct. 4-10) where books that have been pulled from public libraries and schools are placed in the spotlight. PEN America is a national nonprofit with a mission to protect free expression in literacy.
Kasey Meehan is director of the organizations Freedom to Read program, which activates communities to speak out against book banning and removals.
Meehan says even though book bans and removals aren’t making headlines as much as they were two years ago, they are still happening.
“Book bannings have become increasingly normalized, and that’s absolutely the case in Florida,” she said.
According to Pen America’s report of book removals from the 2025-26 school year, 3,212 books were removed from public schools. That count places Florida in second place for the most book bans in the nation, right behind Texas.
On September 23, Florida Commissioner of Education Henry Mack sent out a memo to school districts reminding them of state law for reading materials.
Meehan says book removals often burden school staff with mostly unfunded mandates and stifle student and parent autonomy.
“I think what we are continuing to see is the voice of politicians and the voice of a group of parents and even special interest groups are having a disproportionate impact on what all students across the state of Florida have access to in libraries and it does a real disservice to people who want their kids exposed to different kinds of literature,” Meehan said.
Meehan says those who are looking to get involved can do things as small as reading a banned book to show up at public meetings to speak out against removals.
