Utah adds four more books to statewide school ban list, bringing total to 27

Newly added to Utah’s statewide school book ban list, from left: Breathless, The Carnival at Bray, The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel and Red Hood. The four titles bring the total number of books removed from all Utah public schools to 27. Photo:

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Utah’s statewide list of books banned from public school libraries has grown again, with four more titles added to the removal list maintained by the Utah State Board of Education. The update brings the total to 27.

The newly added titles are “Breathless” by Jennifer Niven, “The Carnival at Bray” by Jessie Ann Foley, “The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” by Margaret Atwood and illustrated by Renee Nault, and “Red Hood” by Elana K. Arnold. The state board’s Library Media page shows that the statewide removal list was last updated on March 2.

Under H.B. 29, passed in 2024, a book must be removed from all Utah public school libraries once it is determined to contain “objective sensitive materials” and has been pulled on that basis by at least three school districts or by two districts and five charter schools. Those titles are then reported to the state and placed on the statewide removal list, according to the board’s public guidance.

The latest additions follow earlier rounds of removals covered by TownLift. In January, three books — “Wicked,” “Nineteen Minutes” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” — were added, bringing the total at that time to 22. In October, “Thirteen Reasons Why” became the 19th title on the list. By late February, TownLift reported that Park City residents had launched the Banned Book Babes book club in response to the growing number of statewide bans, which had then reached 23.

The bans continue as the law faces a constitutional challenge in federal court. In January, the ACLU of Utah and partnering law firms filed suit on behalf of the estate of Kurt Vonnegut, several authors, and two anonymous Utah public high school students, arguing that portions of H.B. 29 are unconstitutionally overbroad and violate the First Amendment.

The state’s public page does not explain why each title was removed by the districts that triggered the statewide ban. But the policy framework is clear: once the threshold is met, access must be restricted across all Utah public schools. State guidance also states that removed materials must be physically disposed of in accordance with local policy and may not be sold or distributed.

Utah’s growing list has made the state a central flashpoint in the national fight over school library access. TownLift’s earlier reporting has noted how a relatively small number of district-level decisions can now shape what students read statewide — a dynamic critics say concentrates censorship power far beyond any single community.