Nadra Nittle

Education reporter

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Not only does the book-banning trend that has escalated over the past several years show no signs of slowing down, it is increasingly becoming “normalized,” according to new research by PEN America. The freedom of expression advocacy group released its report “ The Normalization of Book Banning ” on Wednesday — just ahead of Banned Books Week, which kicks off Sunday — finding that state laws and White House executive orders have made censorship in public schools practically routine over the past year.

Books with themes related to race, gender, sexuality and assault continue to be targeted, with PEN America identifying almost 23,000 cases of book bans across 45 states and 451 school districts over

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