‘A tool to control the thoughts and actions of people’: New Washington law seeks to stop book bans

Book bans in public schools and libraries all over the United States have been fueled in recent years largely by dozens of conservative activist groups working to suppress books about LGBTQ+ people and people of color.

“As in recent years, there are two key pressures behind the school book ban movement: state legislation and the influence of groups that espouse ‘parental rights’ rhetoric to advance pro-censorship advocacy goals,” PEN America said in its report.

In some states, such as Florida and Iowa, lawmakers have passed legislation that makes it easier to remove books from school shelves without any formal process .

Washington has seen significantly less book banning than some states, but censorship battles are still a major issue in parts of the state.

In honor of the American Library Association’s annual Banned Books Week, here’s a look at a new Washington law designed to combat book bans in schools:

Last March, the state Legislature passed a law meant to slow efforts to ban books in Washington’s K-12 schools. The new law forbids public schools, charter schools and some tribal schools from banning books or other instructional materials just because they include stories of legally protected groups such as LGBTQ+ people and people of color.

“We know that limiting texts and information available to read has historically and unequivocally been used to stifle the facts of history – to socially elevate a narrow or limited perspective – as a tool to control the thoughts and actions of people,” said Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, who was the chief sponsor of the law.

Under state law, discrimination is forbidden in public schools on the basis of race, gender identity, sexual orientation and other protected statuses.

Joy Gjersvold, a member of the Conservative Ladies of Washington activist group, spoke in opposition to the bill.

“The only way to ensure the needs of our unique and diverse communities are reflected in our schools is by allowing our local elected school board directors and parents to maintain all decision-making power regarding the best options for instructional and supplemental instructional materials in their school districts,” Gjersvold said.

Justin McKaughan is a national board-certified teacher librarian who lives and works in Olympia. He spoke last spring in strong support of the bill before it became a law, saying things had become bad at his job.

“We have been under attack as librarians and with our public schools,” McKaughan said. “People – they have a target on our books.

“That’s not right. We know that fascism starts when you start pulling stuff off the shelves.”

The new law comes as the number of book bans enacted by schools across the country has nearly tripled in the past year.

More than 10,000 books were banned in public schools during the 2023-24 school year, according to a report by free speech group PEN America.

The group documented 3,362 instances of book bans in the 2022-23 school year.