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Utah adds 7 more books to statewide school ban list

Utah adds 7 more books to statewide school ban list

Rule Changes Salt Lake City, UT local

The state now bars 44 titles from every public school under a 2024 law that lets three districts trigger statewide removals

Today: Seven books added in one batch

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Utah's state education board added seven books to its statewide school ban list on September 30, bringing the total to 44 titles barred from every public school in the state. The list has grown from 13 books since July 2024, when a new state law took effect.

That law, House Bill 29 (HB 29), lets three school districts trigger removal of a book from every other district and charter school, regardless of its literary or educational value. Roughly 80% of the bans have originated from just two districts. Only South Carolina has a similar state-level mechanism.

Why it matters

A few Utah districts can strip a book from every school in the state — 650,000 students — a power only South Carolina also grants.

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Key Indicators

44
Books banned statewide
Titles barred from all Utah public and charter schools as of Sept. 30, 2026.
650K
Students affected
Utah public school students who cannot access banned titles at school.
80%
Bans originating from two districts
Share of statewide bans triggered by Davis and Washington school districts.
2
States with statewide school bans
Utah and South Carolina are the only states with a mandatory statewide list.

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

March 2024 September 2026

7 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. Seven books added in one batch

    Today Policy

    State board adds 7 titles at once, bringing statewide ban list to 44.

  2. List reaches 36 titles

    Policy

    Stephen King's 'Bag of Bones' becomes the 35th banned book.

  3. List reaches 19 titles

    Policy

    Jay Asher's 'Thirteen Reasons Why' banned; list quietly updated.

  4. Personal copy rule reversed

    Policy

    Board allows personal copies again after First Amendment organizations push back.

  5. State bars students' personal copies of banned books

    Policy

    Guidance says students cannot bring their own copies of banned titles to school.

  6. State releases initial 13-book ban list

    Policy

    Law takes effect; books by Judy Blume, Rupi Kaur, and Sarah J. Maas banned statewide.

  7. Utah governor signs HB 29

    Legislation

    Law requires removing books deemed 'objective sensitive material' by three districts.

Scenarios

1

Utah's book ban list passes 60 titles

Likely Resolves by Q3 2027

Discussed by: Book Riot, which noted in October 2025 that bans 'are coming in waves' as districts keep triggering the threshold

The list has grown from 13 titles in July 2024 to 44 in September 2026. Davis and Washington school districts continue to review and remove books, and each new district-level ban that reaches the three-district threshold automatically expands the statewide list. At the current pace, the board could add a dozen or more titles within a year.

2

Court strikes down HB 29's statewide ban mechanism

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: PEN America and First Amendment advocates, who have called the law antidemocratic and unconstitutional

A legal challenge argues that HB 29 gives a handful of districts power over all students statewide and removes books regardless of literary value, violating students' First Amendment right to receive information. The Supreme Court's 1982 Pico decision, which limited school boards' ability to remove library books for ideological reasons, would anchor the challenge.

3

Utah legislature amends or repeals HB 29

Uncertain Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Let Utah Read and local education groups pressing for local control over library shelves

If opposition from educators and parents mounts, the legislature could change the threshold that triggers statewide bans or restore districts' authority over their own libraries. Any such change would need to pass during the 2027 legislative session, which typically runs from January to March.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1982

Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982)

The Island Trees school board in New York removed books including Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five and an anthology of Black writers, calling them 'anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, and just plain filthy.' Students sued.

Then

A divided Supreme Court ruled that school boards cannot remove library books to suppress ideas, and sent the case back to trial. The books eventually returned to the shelves.

Now

Pico established that students have a First Amendment right to receive information. Schools may remove books for educational reasons but not for ideological disagreement.

Why this matters now

HB 29 removes books based on content regardless of literary value, the same kind of removal Pico said courts must scrutinize. Legal challenges to Utah's law will likely lean on this precedent.

2024-2025

South Carolina statewide ban list (2024-2025)

South Carolina became the first state to maintain a mandatory list of books that all school districts must remove. Its list now contains 21 titles.

Then

South Carolina's list has continued to grow since its introduction.

Now

South Carolina and Utah are now the only states with mandatory statewide school book ban lists.

Why this matters now

Utah's expansion from 13 titles to 44 in about 27 months shows how quickly the mechanism compounds once a statewide trigger exists. The South Carolina comparison offers a baseline for tracking both lists.

Sources

(5)

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