Pico, LGBTQ+ Book Bans, and the Battle for Students’ First Amendment Rights

Abstract

The Supreme Court addressed book removals in school libraries in the 1982 case Island Trees Board of Education v. Pico,1 but the complex opinion did not craft a rule to bind lower courts. Nonetheless, lower courts have used Pico as a guide in addressing censorship in school (and public) libraries, but that era of deference appears to be coming to an end. With book challenges at historic highs, anti-censorship advocates should anticipate relying not on Pico, but on broader First Amendment principles.