According to multiple online articles, including PEN America and the American Library Association, the number of book bans has skyrocketed from 2,532 bans in the 2021-2022 school year to more than 6,870 book bans during the 2024-2025 school year of all grade levels, from elementary to high school years. PEN America defined Book bans as an immediate action against a book because of its content. This action would be performed by or ordered by parents, administrative decisions, community challenges, or in direct action from government officials, leading to the inaccessibility of the book or the book being completely taken off the shelf in a school library.  Many students have backgrounds that aren't being talked about in classrooms or haven't seen many students with their same background. Students who identify as LGBTQ have become the most targeted, and in 2021, book bans that talk about LGBTQ+ issues increased. Books depicting homosexuality or transgender identities were ordered to be removed because they are seen as "sexual", "obscene," and "inappropriate".

In 2022, it was said that book bans were cautioned as a violation of the First Amendment in the American Constitution and which talks about free expression. Book bans basically violate the students' freedom of speech. Politicians even heavily criticized school leaders in censoring these books that talk about multiple ideologies and perceptions of other people. PEN America also stated that there has been a wide number of state-mandated book bans, especially in the states of South Carolina and Utah—these policies, enacted in 2024, created "no-read" lists for books. During the 2024-2025 school year, 3,752 titles have been prohibited by 87 school districts nationwide. 

If we let book bans continue nationwide, children will be conditioned into only knowing one perspective of the world; they will not get to see themselves in the books that they read, and will feel like an alien forever. It tells them that society devalues them, making them feel unimportant or even a alien. Book bans overall diminish students' First Amendment rights of freedom of speech. What if they wanted to write a book about their Native American descent? Their book-banning school district wouldn't let them. Also, many authors, including a well-known author Stephen King, won't get to write to their intended audiences, and they won't be able to read them. Their creative work has been shunned by these school districts. In conclusion, students of all ages, including authors, illustrators, and translators, have been negatively impacted. Signing this petition would potentially spread more awareness to this issue and would give students around the world a voice and make their dreams of seeing themselves inbooks more come true. Let's make all of these book creators have their work embraced and make students feel represented.