We’re proud to have partnered with the Knight Foundation to produce an in-depth study of Americans’ views of book restrictions in U.S. public schools. The study fills a critical information gap in the national conversation about book restrictions by providing rigorous, non-partisan analysis of a nationally representative, probability sample survey of more than 4,500 U.S. adults, including 1,138 parents of children in grades pre-K to 12.

The poll finds that two-thirds of Americans broadly oppose efforts to restrict books in public schools and 78 percent have confidence in their community’s public schools to select appropriate books for students. Despite general opposition to book restrictions, six in 10 see age appropriateness as a legitimate reason to limit access to certain materials. Ideology is a key variable in attitudes toward restrictions, with support highest among conservatives.

Twenty-three percent of Americans are aware of efforts to restrict books in their own community’s public schools. Just 3 percent personally have engaged on the issue in their communities – 2 percent to maintain book access, 1 percent to restrict it.

The full report, supplemental materials and dataset are available on the Knight Foundation’s website. Findings have been covered by Chalkbeat, Education Week, The Cato Institute, ABC News, The Tallahassee Democrat, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, NJ Spotlight News and Colorado Public Radio, among others.