The last five years have seen an unprecedented rise in book bans in public libraries and schools, but two slow-moving court cases have overturned bans in Texas and at schools serving students in military families.

In July 2023, Texas’ GOP-dominated legislature passed House Bill 900, which mandated public schools and retail bookstores develop standards to restrict access to sexually explicit material. Bookstores and free speech groups immediately filed a lawsuit and a judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the law from going into effect.

The law would have required bookstores to evaluate each title according to a 16-step process that left them vulnerable to prosecution if the process was not followed correctly.

That lawsuit reached its conclusion Oct, 21 when a district jud

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