It has become almost routine in modern America: activist groups demanding libraries pull what they consider "objectionable books" from their shelves, but it is a practice dating back to the Middle Ages.

This is Banned Books Week, when librarians and educators inform readers some organizations are trying to keep certain books out of public hands, especially for children.

Cynthia Robinson, executive director of the Illinois Library Association, said the number of "challenges" has grown significantly over the past few years.

"Somebody will get a list that comes from maybe someone they know or some other organization, and then they will just take it to the library and say, 'I want to remove these books. They're not good,'" Robinson explained. "They haven't read them, but they don't think anyone else should be able to."

One of the earliest known cases of banning a book was by King James the First in 1597, and the first known incident in the New World was in 1637 in Massachusetts.

Robinson pointed out many of the challenges Illinois libraries have received are from right-wing ideological groups. Many of those who challenge books say they are not seeking to ban them, but want them to only be available to "appropriate" age groups.

Robinson acknowledged if a particular book is taken from library shelves, people have the ability to purchase it themselves, but it still keeps it from those who cannot afford it.

"The books that are being challenged are what we would call 'diverse' books," Robinson outlined. "They are books that are about people who are LGBTQ or BIPOC people, people of color. These are the books being challenged in libraries."

Robinson added some librarians and staff have had to take precautions for their personal safety, and in some cases, they have needed legal assistance to fight litigious groups. But she thinks in the end, it hurts everyone who uses the library.

"It weakens the community, because people need to see people like themselves in libraries," Robinson asserted. "If you are a queer person, you want to see yourself representative in the community. If you are a person of color, you want to see yourself in the library."


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After 17 years, the state of New York is re-evaluating its school funding formula. The state budget agreement calls for the Rockefeller Institute to study it.

Education advocates have noted that learning loss from the pandemic and the youth mental-health crisis have made this change more necessary. Randi Levine, policy director at Advocates for Children of New York, said the new formula must allocate funds for homeless students and students in the foster-care system.

"Currently," she said, "the formula does not provide any additional funding for those populations of students who have distinct educational needs and often face barriers to success in school."

A 2023 report noted that more than 119,000 New York City students are homeless. Other recommendations to improve the funding formula include providing resources for New York City to implement its new class-size requirements, improvements to special-education distribution funding, and cost-effective strategies to aid multilingual learners.

The final report from the Rockefeller Institute will be presented in early December.

Political will from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature remain a challenge to implementing some formula changes. Levine noted that pandemic funding was used to create a host of beneficial programs for students in New York City. Without that continuous federal funding, she said, New York State has to pick up the slack.

"These are programs that were needed before the pandemic and are still needed today," she said. "But, the federal funding has now expired, and so there's a need for the state to contribute more resources."

Some of those programs included doubling 3-K program participation, bolstering preschool special education, hiring 500 school social workers and psychologists, and creating a program to have coordinators help students living in shelters get to school.

A Detroit educator recently told a congressional committee he is "terrified" at what a second Trump term as president could bring for America's public schools.

Rodney Fresh, a high school social studies teacher in Detroit, said parts of the Republican agenda appear to call for dismantling the public education system. He added the transition plan known as Project 2025 would "kick the ladder out from under" students who need it the most and eliminate the federal Department of Education.

"Why do they want to weaken public schools? If you ask me, it's because they fear what public schools do - we teach critical thinking, honest history and tolerance - and because diverse, educated citizens threaten their power," he asked.

Project 2025 is a 900-page blueprint by the conservative Heritage Foundation for reorganizing the federal government under a Republican administration. It calls for privatizing the public school system and cutting funding for more than 180,000 teaching positions.

Former President Donald Trump has denied any connection to the plan.

Fresh, who is a second-generation instructor, teaches ninth-grade U.S. history, 11th-grade world history and Advanced Placement African American studies. He warned that under Project 2025, classes on African American history would be censored, help for students with disabilities would be eliminated, and programs like Head Start, one of the most successful preschool programs of its kind, would be cut.

"This would shut off access to high-quality early childhood education for students in Detroit. It would also take away a lifeline many parents count on to give their kids a real opportunity and fair shot at overcoming poverty," Fresh added.

Fresh told members of the U.S. House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee that under the plan's guidelines, millions of public school students whose families can't afford to send them to private schools would be deprived of the benefits of a quality public education.

"We can and must do better for the sake of our students. We cannot - and I repeat - we cannot allow Project 2025 to dismantle public education and destroy such an essential pillar of our democracy," he said.


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Metro Nashville Public Schools and Nashville State Community College are working together to help some high school students launch health care careers.

They can take college courses and earn a technical certificate in the field of Central Sterile Processing. The "Better Together" partnership helps graduates prepare for and complete college.

Shanna L. Jackson, president of Nashville State Community College, said the state-funded $2 million grant brings her school's surgical technical program to Pearl-Cohn and Maplewood High Schools. The funds will be used to set up a sterile processing lab in a classroom and hire two new faculty members, one at each school.

"As juniors, they'll take dual enrollment courses. As seniors, they'll take dual enrollment courses. In the summer, they're actually going to have clinical experiences with area health care providers," Jackson outlined. "And they will actually be able to sit for that exam and be well on their way to a career or come to Nashville State and finish their Associate Degree in Surgical Technology."

Jackson explained central sterile technicians store, clean, sterilize, assemble and prepare medical equipment used during procedures. She added Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission recently announced funding for this initiative and 22 others through the Governor's Investment in Vocational Education program.

Jackson stressed the Better Together initiative was designed to bridge the gap between high school and college, aiming to increase both enrollment and graduation rates at Nashville State. She noted they have been working to build pathways for students to get jobs in some high-demand, high-wage fields.

"We have now an early college that's in its fourth year at Whites Creek High School, and we're starting early colleges at Glencliff and Cambridge," Jackson pointed out. "This gives students that are in high school the opportunity to not take Senior English, but to take English Composition with Nashville State."

The students earn dual credit for high school and college. The "early college high school" program recently received a National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.