South Carolina now leads nation in state-mandated school book bans

COLUMBIA – On May 6, 2025, the South Carolina Board of Education voted to remove 10 books from all public schools for all grade levels. This brings the total to 22 books removed or restricted statewide in South Carolina public schools.

As PEN America warned in March when these titles were being considered for a ban, South Carolina now leads the nation in the number of state-mandated school book bans, surpassing Utah.

All 10 books that were banned today were challenged by one parent who previously tried to ban the books in Beaufort County Schools. Local education officials had decided to keep the books after a thorough review process that involved review committee members reading and discussing every title. Under the statewide book-banning rule enacted in 2024, Regulation 43-170, the State Board of Education can ban books without reading them.

Josh Malkin, Advocacy Director for the ACLU of South Carolina, gave the following statement: “The state is continuing to leave educational decisions for all students up to one parent. This is problematic and counter to the foundational democratic ideals of public education.”

With today’s vote, the State Board of Education added these 10 titles to the list of books that must be removed from all public school libraries and classroom collections, regardless of grade level:

• 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

Previously, on March 13, the State Board of Education’s Instructional Materials Review Committee (IMRC) recommended banning these 10 titles based on Regulation 43-170, which deems any book containing a description of “sexual conduct” age-inappropriate for all students from kindergarten through 12th grade. On April 1, the full State Board of Education voted to pause any decision on banning these books in light of concerns about the underlying regulation.

Today, the board voted to accept the IMRC’s recommendations without a word of discussion. The only two dissenting votes were from Dr. David O’Shields and the Rev. Tony Vincent.

The board previously voted to remove or restrict access to the following titles:

• Damsel by Elana Arnold
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• Flamer by Mike Curato
• Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
• All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
• 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
• Normal People by Sally Rooney
• Push by Sapphire

The board also previously decided to restrict access to Ellen Hopkins' novel Crank. The book remains in high school libraries, but a parent or guardian must fill out an opt-in form for a student to borrow it.