PEN America reported Monday that Texas recorded more than 8,100 public book bans during the 2025-2026 school year, the highest number of bans recorded in any state and part of a national record of nearly 12,000 bans in a single year.
The organization said Texas' total surpassed Florida's more than 3,200 bans and was driven in large part by Senate Bill 13, a 2025 law governing school library materials, catalogs, and parental access. SB 13 took effect September 1, 2025, and applies beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
PEN America said the law's requirements contributed to districts removing books in large numbers as they sought to comply with provisions concerning "indecent" and "profane" content. The organization's analysis found that 72% of districts it tracked nationwide have bans that could be attributed to state legislation.
The report also identified artificial intelligence as an emerging factor in Texas book removals. According to PEN America, public records obtained by the Texas Freedom to Read project showed districts using generative AI tools to evaluate books for removal. The organization said some AI recommendations relied on the fact that other districts had already banned particular titles, potentially creating a snowball effect.
Texas and Florida accounted for the vast majority of the bans recorded during the school year, according to PEN America. The organization said public records requested by the Texas Freedom to Read Project and Florida Freedom to Read Project helped identify thousands of removals that otherwise may not have been publicly documented.
Nationally, PEN America counted 11,982 book bans across 114 school districts, affecting 7,370 unique titles and the works of more than 4,000 authors, illustrators and translators. More than 90% of young adult titles banned during the year were fiction.
