Censorship Efforts in Schools Up 50% Last Year, Group Says

Attempts to censor public school texts and other educational materials surged by 50% across the nation last year to 376 incidents, according to a survey released Tuesday by People for the American Way.

The self-styled “people’s lobby,” which espouses constitutional liberties, reported 27 school censorship efforts in both California and Texas. Florida led the way with 34.

Arthur J. Kropp, president of the organization, said that more than one-fifth of all incidents involving public school systems were “the handiwork of extremist conservative groups or individuals,” including proponents of the “religious right” such as religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

At Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach, Va., a spokesman said that Robertson had not seen the report and would have no immediate comment.

“Censorship is exploding in our public schools,” Kropp told a news briefing. “The 1991-92 school year was far and away the worst year on record. The reason is simple: there is no longer any stigma attached to being a censor . . . “

The report said that most incidents involved demands that library or classroom materials be removed or restricted for all students and that such efforts were successful 41% of the time.

The most frequently challenged book was John Steinbeck’s classic, “Of Mice and Men,” primarily because of its use of profanity, the study found. Other books challenged included “Catcher in the Rye,” “The Color Purple,” “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “Grapes of Wrath” and “Slaughterhouse Five.”

Kropp said that the study shows most censorship efforts reflected “the views of . . . individuals who are determined at all cost to impose their demands on the many.”

Beverly LaHaye, president of Concerned Women for America, described as a pro-family organization, called Kropp’s report “an hysterical attempt to intimidate parents.” She said that parental objections do “not mean that every book objected to should be removed. It means that school administrators, teachers and parents should be encouraged to freely debate educational issues on the local level--that’s called democracy.”