Pressley Introduces Bill to Address Rising Book Bans in Schools, Libraries
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduced the Books Save Lives Act to address rising book bans in schools and libraries • The bill would require libraries to maintain diverse books and classify discriminatory bans as civil rights violations • Over 3,000 books were banned in 2022-23 school year, a 33% increase from previous year • Banned books often address issues of race, LGBTQ themes; authors include Morrison, Angelou • Pressley's bill calls for trained librarians in schools, GAO to study impact of bans on underrepresented groups