(ST. FRANCIS, MN)—In a vital victory for the freedom to read, two lawsuits were settled this week regarding book bans in St. Francis (Minnesota) Area Schools. PEN America applauds the settlements along with students, parents, teachers, and authors who advocated against book bans in the district for the last six months. The school district has agreed to return all removed books to library shelves, adopt a policy for library purchases and book challenges aligned with state law, and guarantee participation by parents, students, and qualified media specialists.
Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms managing director for U.S. Free Expression Programs, said: “The community members who have fought back against book censorship in St. Francis have set an inspiring and admirable example. At a time when the epidemic of book banning is spreading rapidly across multiple states, it is heartening to see students, parents, community members and authors unite to notch a vital victory for freedom. This is a win that belongs to many, and will reverberate far beyond the boundaries of a single school district.”
PEN America first called out the district’s school library policy in January 2025, and joined community advocates pressing to reverse it. The policy, adopted in late 2024, formally used a now-defunct website, BookLooks.org, to evaluate whether books could remain on library shelves or new ones purchased. As a result of that policy, at least 46 books were banned in the district in the past school year, including Night by Elie Wiesel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, and Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez.
In March, lawsuits were filed against the district by Education Minnesota and the ACLU of Minnesota on behalf of local parents and their students and educators. More recently in May, PEN America, EveryLibrary, and Authors Against Book Bans joined authors Dave Eggers, Anne Ursu and Kelly Barnhill to speak about fighting book bans with students and the community at large.
Under the terms of the settlement of the lawsuits, the St. Francis Board agreed to:
- Adopt a new policy that is aligned with state law, and guarantees the input of parents, students, and qualified media specialists in evaluating challenged books
- Allow the review committee for challenged books to remove a book only with a supermajority vote.
- Require an investigation and report by the school board to a public meeting if it wants to overrule the review committee and remove a challenged book
- Return all books removed under the previous policy to media centers and classroom libraries immediately
- Keep the new book review policy in place for at least three years.
Friedman stated: “Our schools rely on trained professionals to make determinations about the books available in their libraries for a reason: because they value librarians’ expertise, they value library collections that are educationally relevant to students, they value diverse stories, and they value intellectual freedom. Rather than serve the cause of censorship, we applaud the district’s choice to now properly serve its students and families. In St. Francis and across the country, our communities are best served by schools that fully support the freedom to read.”
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057