Utah adds seven books to statewide school removal list, bringing total to 44

TownLift has tracked how decisions in a small group of districts can trigger removals across every public school in the state

SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Seven more books have been added to Utah’s statewide school removal list, bringing the total number of titles removed from student access in public schools to 44.

The newly added titles are:

• “House of Earth and Blood” by Sarah J. Maas
• “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins
• “Kingdom of the Cursed” by Kerri Maniscalco
• “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” by Jesse Andrews
• “Perfect” by Ellen Hopkins
• “Storm and Fury” by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab

The Utah State Board of Education’s Library Media page, last updated Sept. 28, lists 44 titles that have met the threshold for statewide removal.

How local removals become statewide

The latest additions continue a process TownLift has followed since Utah released its first statewide removal list in August 2024.

Under Utah Code 53G-10-103, a title determined to contain what the law defines as “objective sensitive material” reaches the statewide removal threshold after at least three school districts remove it on that basis, or after at least two school districts and five charter schools do so.

That means a book does not have to be independently reviewed or removed by every Utah school district before the statewide requirement takes effect.

TownLift reported in August 2024 that Davis and Washington school districts had each independently removed all 13 titles on Utah’s first statewide list. Alpine and Nebo school districts each removed seven, Jordan removed six, and Tooele removed one. Park City School District had independently removed none of the 13 but told TownLift it would remove the titles to comply with state law.

The list has expanded steadily since then.

In March, TownLift reported that John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” became the 28th title on the statewide list after removals in the Davis, Tooele and Washington school districts. TownLift’s review of the state records at the time found that the same relatively small group of districts appeared repeatedly in statewide removal decisions, with Davis appearing on nearly every recent entry.

TownLift documented the pattern again in April, when the statewide list reached 34 titles. According to the USBE spreadsheet reviewed for that report, Davis School District appeared on nearly every statewide removal then listed, while Washington, Jordan, Tooele, Alpine, Nebo and Granite school districts also appeared repeatedly.

TownLift also reported in April that two more books had reached the statewide threshold. “A Stolen Life: A Memoir” by Jaycee Dugard was removed after decisions in Cache, Davis and Granite school districts, while George R.R. Martin’s “A Clash of Kings” reached the threshold after removals in Alpine, Davis and Jordan.

The state list continued to grow over the summer. In an Aug. 19 notice to Utah education agencies, USBE said “Push” by Sapphire had met the statewide threshold and should be removed from student access in all Utah public schools.

The seven titles announced Sept. 28 now bring the total to 44, according to the USBE statewide removal list.

What the law requires

The Utah State Board of Education says its statewide spreadsheet includes titles determined to contain objective sensitive material under Utah Code 53G-10-103 that have been removed on those grounds by enough local education agencies to meet the statewide threshold.

State law defines objective sensitive material through statutory standards for pornographic or indecent material and establishes the process local education agencies must follow in reviewing instructional materials.

Once a title meets the statewide threshold, USBE notifies local education agencies and directs that the material be removed from student access statewide, as it did in the Sept. 28 notice.

The removals apply to Utah public schools. They do not prohibit the books from being sold in bookstores, held in public libraries, or owned privately.

For Park City students, that distinction matters. As TownLift previously reported, a title can be removed from Park City schools under the statewide requirement even when Park City School District did not independently make the decision that triggered the removal.

Park City response grows alongside statewide removals

As Utah’s statewide removal list has grown, the issue has also prompted a local response in Park City.

In February, TownLift reported that two Park City residents launched the Banned Book Babes Book Club, a group formed specifically to read and discuss books removed from Utah public schools. Organizers said the club grew out of concern over the expanding statewide list and how decisions in a small number of school districts can affect students across Utah.

The conversation broadened again in September, when the Pro-Active Alliance, Banned Book Babes and Let Utah Read Park City hosted Rebekah Cummings, co-founder of the statewide coalition Let Utah Read, for a community discussion on Utah’s book-access laws, parental rights, the First Amendment and the freedom to read. TownLift reported ahead of the event that organizers intended the discussion for people across the political and ideological spectrum and planned to examine who makes decisions about student access to books and how those decisions intersect with parental rights and constitutional protections.

The latest additions bring Utah’s statewide removal list to 44 books, while the conversation over who decides what students can read continues in communities including Park City.