When people think about book bans, they might picture a controversial novel being pulled from a school library or a graphic novel being withheld from a younger age group. But a growing share of books being removed from American public schools are nonfiction pieces such as biographies, historical accounts, educational books, and other works about real people and events.
A report published in May 2026 by nonprofit organization PEN America, which advocates for free expression, found that nonfiction material made up 29% of unique book titles banned during the 2024-2025 school year — more than double its 14% contribution from the year before. According to the report, 1,102 nonfiction titles were affected by bans in parts of the country, including books about health, history, identity and general knowledge.
This report reflects a growing trend in the type of information students can access through school libraries. While fiction novels still make up the majority of banned material, nonfiction’s growing share raises questions about what schools deem appropriate for students to explore independently and how those decisions come to be.
The specific kinds of topics identified in PEN America’s report provide some insight as to what schools are targeting, but they cover a wide range of subjects. These banned titles include “Night,” Eli Wiesel’s memoir of surviving the Holocaust; “Aztec, Inca & Maya,” a book about ancient civilizations; and “Challenges for LGBTQ Teens,” an adolescent-geared guide to issues affecting LGBTQ youth.
These books serve different purposes, but they share a common reliance on real world people, events, and experiences. A student might use an educational book to supplement studying for a class, or a specific guide to find information about a topic they might feel hesitant discussing with someone in real life.
The PEN America report also found that the subgenre of educational and informational books, which falls under the growing nonfiction group, is also a growing proportion of banned titles. The category increased from 5% of unique banned titles in 2023-24 to 13% the following year. Books about subjects such as geography, politics, teen health, mental health, and language accompanied textbooks and reference materials among the nearly 500 titles banned in the latter year.
This increase is particularly surprising considering the typical use of these materials for educational purposes outside of recreational reading. Educational materials can provide background knowledge for school assignments, introduce students to new topics, and help readers trace historical understandings of a certain academic topic.
Especially in a time where digital education methods are taking over the classroom, preserving physical research materials is more important than ever. A simple Internet search can answer most of students’ research needs; when physical resources become more sparse, turning to a device becomes an even easier option.
This concern only worsens when the specific topics covered in educational topics are examined. Of the 1,102 impacted nonfiction titles identified, more than half addressed activism and social movements, making it the most commonly targeted nonfiction category. Examples of banned titles in this group include “#WomensMarch: Insisting on Equality” by Rebecca Felix and “IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All” by Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council and Carolyn Choi.
Such books can explain how social justice movements are developed and introduce young readers to people who have challenged existing institutions or societal issues. Their subject matter can also intersect with political disagreements about how schools should discuss race, gender, history, social issues, and more. This tension helps to explain why many of these bans are created, but also prompt opposing fears about the amount of oversight and control schools have over what their students consume.
These statistics also only depict raw data, but don’t reflect the specific narratives behind every school administration’s decision to make a ban. The evidence doesn’t establish that every title was removed for the same reason or cite activism as the stated reason for each ban. A banned book’s subject matter and the decision behind restricting it are separate questions.
The distinction matters as debate over banned books in academic settings persists and grows. While supporters of restrictions may raise concerns about age appropriateness and avoiding coverage of controversial topics, opponents contrastingly argue that removing books limits students’ autonomy and access to information. Understanding both sides of the topic involves examining not just what books contain, but also the reasons why people are pushing to remove them.
Another important variable to consider in the debate is the definition of a book ban. PEN America defines a school book ban broadly, tracking actions that remove a book entirely from student access, but also recording policies that limit access in less extreme increments, such as setting grade-level limits of requiring parental permission for students to access.
Such intermediate policies are often viewed as a compromise between proponents and oppositions of academic book bans. However, even with those imitations, the year to year comparison reveals a clear change in the composition of materials being restricted: nonfiction books are increasingly being targeted.
School libraries help students explore subjects beyond what is covered in a particular class. While the rise of digital integration in education rapidly diminishes the need for physical materials, books in their tangible form are an integral part of youth education.
For example, even just seeing an educational book offered at a school library that is targeted towards a marginalized population, such as LGBTQ youth, can make a student feel accepted, informed, and represented. On the other hand, others raise questions about if all materials are appropriate to show to all students at any age.
The growing share of nonfiction novels in book ban data raises a central question for the educational community: how should concerns about the appropriateness of particular books be balanced with students’ autonomy and right to access information? As educational books increasingly comprise the titles removed from academic settings, that answer will shape not only what stories students encounter, but also which facts, histories, and ideas they can navigate for themselves.
A public school library (Erie Bard via Wikimedia Commons)
