South Carolina leads nation in school book bans after removing 10 more titles
By Zach Rainey
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COLUMBIA, South Carolina (WYFF) — South Carolina now leads the nation in the number of books banned from schools after the state board of education voted to remove 10 more books from school libraries.
This brings the total of banned books in South Carolina to 22 different titles, surpassing Utah’s 17 books that were banned from schools.
On Wednesday, the state board of education voted to remove the following books:
– Collateral by Ellen Hopkins
– Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
– Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
– Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
– Identical by Ellen Hopkins
– Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
– Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
– Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
– Lucky by Alice Sebold
– Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Under current state law, people in South Carolina can report concerns or complaints about books in public schools, and titles can either be removed or made available to certain grade levels.
That law went into effect back in August 2024.
According to the filed complaints, the 10 titles were removed due to descriptions of sexual interactions, which is deemed inappropriate for all students in grade school, according to Regulation 43-170.
The following books were removed from schools in 2024:
– A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
– A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
– A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
– A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
– Damsel by Elana Arnold
– Normal People by Sally Rooney
– Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
The following books were removed from schools in February:
– All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
– Flamer by Mike Curato
– Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
– Push by Sapphire
To read more about why the books were presented to the Instructional Materials Review Committee, visit their website.
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