OP-ED: Celebrate Banned Books Week by Telling Wisconsin Republicans to Stop Censoring Our Kids’ Education

As Wisconsinites, most of us can agree that politicians have no business mandating what our kids learn in school or censoring what can be checked out at our local public libraries. Yet, a recent study ranked Wisconsin as the second highest state for book bans, with 481 books banned in Wisconsin classrooms as of April 2024.

If Wisconsin Republicans have their way, that number will only keep growing – and some have taken it into their own hands. GOP Congressman Derrick Van Orden, representing Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, was caught harassing local public library employees before physically removing books from the library that he personally disagreed with.

In the state legislature, GOP lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would criminalize teachers, librarians, and school staff for not following along with Republicans’ partisan book ban agendas.

In the 2021-22 session, the GOP majority in our legislature passed legislation – vetoed by Gov. Evers – that would have imposed a list of banned words that could not be used by teachers in school classrooms.

Instead of spending time and resources on real issues facing Wisconsin families and students, like making child care more affordable or ensuring Wisconsin schools are fully funded, state Republicans are continuing their efforts to meddle in personal and educational decisions they have no business in.

This Banned Books Week and beyond, tell Wisconsin’s GOP lawmakers that we support Wisconsin students’ freedom to read, and we trust parents, teachers, and our public libraries working together – not politicians – to create the best learning environment possible for our kids.

You can reach your state lawmakers here: 1-800-362-9472, and your federal lawmakers here: 202-224-3121.