Over the last year, Florida was found to be responsible for nearly half of the entire country's book bans as the number of banned books reaches a new high.
A recent study by PEN America, a human rights organization that focuses on the freedom to access literature, found that Florida saw 4,561 book bans across the state in the 2023-24 school year.
The report, which reflects numbers as of October, stated that nearly half of all counties in Florida — 33 out of 67 — saw book bans.
The thousands of books banned this year saw a significant jump from the prior school year, which saw 1,406 books banned, as reported by the Tallahassee Democrat.
"Of the most commonly banned books in the 2023-2024 school year, 44% featured people and characters of color and 39% featured LGBTQ+ people and characters," PEN America said in the report.
Prior to the previous school year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a House bill into law that created an official process for banning books. Libraries were also required to remove any books that were under review for claims of sexual content, as reported by El País.
Florida's number of book bans accounts for nearly half of the more than 10,000 book bans implemented across the county. Only about 3,300 book bans were implemented nationwide during the prior school year.
Following Florida, Iowa came in second for the most number of banned books, with PEN America reporting 3,671 in the previous school year. Texas came in third with 538 book bans.
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