Texas is at the center of the national debate over access to books in public schools, following a new report identifying it as the state with the most school book bans during the 2025–26 academic year. PEN America, a free-expression organization that opposes book censorship, reported 11,982 instances of school book bans nationwide. Texas accounted for more than 8,100, according to reporting by the Houston Chronicle. The findings were released during Banned Books Week and refl