Fight for the Freedom to Read

The message:

Students deserve to see their diverse experiences and communities reflected in the classroom. But across the country – including in New York – right-wing extremists have aggressively pushed to suppress books about communities of color and LGBTQ+ people.

The Freedom to Read Act would address this crisis by protecting students’ right to read and ensuring that school districts have fair, rigorous protocols for evaluating attempts to ban books and other academic materials.

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Tell Governor Hochul to sign the Freedom to Read Act.

The recipients:

Governor Kathy Hochul

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Subject Sign the Freedom to Read Act

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The Freedom to Read Act (A.9537B/ S.8630C) would address this crisis by protecting students’ right to read and ensuring that school districts have fair, rigorous protocols for evaluating challenges to library materials.

I’m writing to ask you to sign the Freedom to Read Act this year to protect critical freedoms for the next generation of New Yorkers.

During the 2022-2023 school year, PEN America documented 3,362 book banning incidents involving 1,557 books. Thirty percent of these books are about race, racism, or feature characters of color, while over a quarter include LGBTQIA+ characters or themes.

New York is not immune to these attacks. A Journal News investigation found that people filed more than 200 complaints about books in Hudson Valley school districts between 2020 and 2022. And that’s just one part of our state.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has received reports of school districts pulling books from shelves because of controversy, declining library orders that include books on accurate American history, and directing librarians to remove displays that celebrate all students.

The Freedom to Read Act would prevent books from being removed because of the ideas they express or the identity of the author or characters. The act would also require that districts establish a rigorous protocol for reviewing complaints and provide protection for educators and library media specialists who select library materials that school districts later remove.

The Legislature passed a previous version of this bill last year, which you later vetoed. The new version of the bill addresses concerns you raised by clarifying that school boards and superintendents retain the ultimate authority for selecting library materials and supervising staff while establishing meaningful protections for educators. Banning certain books, ideas, or topics threatens students’ rights and makes it impossible for schools to help students become informed, well-rounded citizens.

I’m counting on you to make sure students have vibrant, inclusive schools where books and ideas are openly discussed and debated, not censored.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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