Congress Must Defend Freedom from Government Book Bans

Our nation was founded on the principle that free people deserve free access to ideas. That freedom is under threat when books are removed from schools and libraries in ways that discriminate against children because of who they are or what history they are allowed to learn. In 2023, the Department of Education created a civil rights position—sometimes called the “book ban coordinator”—to watch out for discrimination in book removals. The goal was simple: if books about certain races, religions, or identities were pulled from classrooms while other topics were left untouched, the government would investigate whether that violated civil rights law. But in January, this role was eliminated. Federal guidance was rescinded, and the Office for Civil Rights announced it would no longer even review complaints about discriminatory book bans. That means families now have no federal protection when schools strip shelves of books about Black history, immigrant families, or LGBTQ youth. Washington has walked away from defending basic constitutional rights. This should concern every American. If the government can quietly look the other way while entire viewpoints are erased from our classrooms, then no community is safe from censorship. Today it may be books about race or gender; tomorrow it could be books about faith, patriotism, or the Constitution itself. Congress must act. Hold hearings to investigate the elimination of this role and the rollback of civil rights enforcement. Shine a light on who ordered this change and why. And pass legislation to ensure that no administration can abandon protections against discriminatory censorship. Freedom means protecting every family’s right to learn the full story of America—the good, the bad, and the hard truths. Real patriots understand that if government can erase one story, it can erase them all. Congress must defend liberty and ensure that no child is denied their history or identity.