The wave of book bans sweeping the United States usually targets works of fiction that are considered controversial. But now it also “hits” the textbooks used in public schools.
The Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District board in Houston has voted against including certain chapters in science textbooks, including vaccines, human development, diversity and climate change.
The motion to withdraw the funds was made by council vice president Natalie Blasingame and was supported almost unanimously.
Blasingame, who has served on the board since 2021, did not give a specific explanation for the decision, but said the issues exceeded what the state requires to teach and created “a perception that people are bad.”
Last year, the Republican-controlled state board approved textbooks for school science curricula, rejecting several climate books.
Education experts say the move could have far-reaching consequences, releasing information on other subjects in public school districts across the country.
PEN America found 3,362 cases of individual book bans in public schools for the 2022-23 school year, a 33 percent increase from last year — with Florida and Texas leading the way. These books include novels about race or gender rather than mainstream academic material.
THE censorship the number of textbooks is “an extension of this movement”.
Book bans have become a key part of the platforms of well-funded far-right politicians seeking to gain more seats on school boards in the United States.