First Amendment

Public Urged to Help Defeat New Law that Would Further Censor Books in Schools

The two-hour event will feature a community reading hour followed by remarks from authors and other speakers, including Representative John Arthur and author Abdi Nazemian, whose novel Like a Love Story was banned statewide in Utah in 2025.

Plaintiff Added to Suit After Two School Districts Ban Dr. Angelou’s Pulitzer Prize-Nominated Work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings — Statewide Ban Under Consideration

ACLU of Massachusetts featured our case, Vonnegut v. Utah, on their podcast Civil Liberities Minute. Listen now.

HB331 makes blocking traffic or sidewalks with two or more people a third degree felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. This bill also provides criminal enhancements for wearing masks during the commission of a crime, and creates a civil cause of action to sue people who block roadways or sidewalks. These penalties erode the public's ability to exercise their First Amendment right to protest and chill constitutionally protected speech. HB331 would make felons out of protestors.

HB197 expands on the prior sensitive materials law passed in 2024, Rep. Ivory's HB29. This bill would require schools to use automated filters in screening database and other online content and to immediately ban access to materials upon a "plausible" complaint. Like HB29, the bill would require the material to be pulled statewide once enough districts flag the same material, undermining local control over our schools. Additionally, under this bill, parents could sue schools and educational vendors, exposing local education agencies to legal liability that will in turn be covered by taxpayer dollars.