Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Since 2020, public school boards and state governments have been restricting specific books from being taught in their classrooms or circulating in school libraries. Books touching on sexual activity, gender identity, and racial issues have been especially targeted. Reacting to or instigating parental concerns, local and state politicians have advocated close scrutiny of certain books, and have demanded a role in the development of curriculum. In some states, books have been publicly burned, evoking frightening scenes from the not-so-distant past. Many contend that these assaults on books are politically motivated censorship, fuel a culture war, and drive an unnecessary moral panic. Might First Amendment scholarship and jurisprudence offer wisdom on how to navigate these issues? Can parental concerns be respected without censorship?
Featured:
David Hahn, was elected chair of the Minnesota Republican Party in October 2021. He previously served on the Eden Prairie School Board for three terms and, from 2003 to 2016, was in the State Senate, where he chaired the Health and Human Services Committee and served as a member of the Education, Finance, and Rules and Administration Committees. Hahn was the Senate Minority Leader during his last four years in office.
Khalique Rogers co-directs the Center for School Change and is the founder of Good Riddance Consulting. He works on social impact initiatives in the Twin Cities, with a focus on amplifying the voices of community, youth, and businesses that want to grow using a data-driven human approach. He is a skilled policy advocate, facilitator, public speaker, storyteller, and writer. Rogers also facilitates life-skill sessions for young people ages 14-25 through a series called Good Riddance: Turning L’s into Lessons.
Jeff Snyder, associate professor of educational studies at Carleton College, is a historian of education who focuses on modern practices in the United States. His work explores the intersections between education and broader trends in U.S. cultural and intellectual history, examining questions about race, national identity, and the purposes of public education in a diverse, democratic society. Snyder’s interests include past and present educational policy and school reform movements.
John McCabe (moderator) is the program manager and editor of the Free Speech Project. He previously worked as a freelance reporter for Science|Business and as a writer in the entertainment industry. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was a contact tracer for the Community Tracing Collaborative, a joint endeavor of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Partners In Health. He earned his B.A. in Writing for Film and Television from Emerson College and is now studying for his master's degree at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.
Record Sept. 19, 2023
Since 2020, public school boards and state governments have been restricting specific books from being taught in their classrooms or circulating in school libraries. Books touching on sexual activity, gender identity, and racial issues have been especially targeted. Reacting to or instigating parental concerns, local and state politicians have advocated close scrutiny of certain books, and have demanded a role in the development of curriculum. In some states, books have been publicly burned, evoking frightening scenes from the not-so-distant past. Many contend that these assaults on books are politically motivated censorship, fuel a culture war, and drive an unnecessary moral panic. Might First Amendment scholarship and jurisprudence offer wisdom on how to navigate these issues? Can parental concerns be respected without censorship?
Featured:
David Hahn, was elected chair of the Minnesota Republican Party in October 2021. He previously served on the Eden Prairie School Board for three terms and, from 2003 to 2016, was in the State Senate, where he chaired the Health and Human Services Committee and served as a member of the Education, Finance, and Rules and Administration Committees. Hahn was the Senate Minority Leader during his last four years in office.
Khalique Rogers co-directs the Center for School Change and is the founder of Good Riddance Consulting. He works on social impact initiatives in the Twin Cities, with a focus on amplifying the voices of community, youth, and businesses that want to grow using a data-driven human approach. He is a skilled policy advocate, facilitator, public speaker, storyteller, and writer. Rogers also facilitates life-skill sessions for young people ages 14-25 through a series called Good Riddance: Turning L’s into Lessons.
Jeff Snyder, associate professor of educational studies at Carleton College, is a historian of education who focuses on modern practices in the United States. His work explores the intersections between education and broader trends in U.S. cultural and intellectual history, examining questions about race, national identity, and the purposes of public education in a diverse, democratic society. Snyder’s interests include past and present educational policy and school reform movements.
John McCabe (moderator) is the program manager and editor of the Free Speech Project. He previously worked as a freelance reporter for Science|Business and as a writer in the entertainment industry. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was a contact tracer for the Community Tracing Collaborative, a joint endeavor of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Partners In Health. He earned his B.A. in Writing for Film and Television from Emerson College and is now studying for his master's degree at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.
Record Sept. 19, 2023
