This lawsuit was filed, she says, because Escambia County's case was so egregious. Over the past two years, the free speech group has documented more than 4,000 cases of books being banned or removed. SUZANNE NOSSEL: That violates the First Amendment.

KEVIN ADAMS: What is our standard for ensuring good conduct and manners for our students when I can't even repeat some of the stuff that's here into this mic? Or I wouldn't because of the values I have. ULABY: That's Pensacola parent Aaron Schneier at the meeting where school board member Kevin Adams voted to remove 'Perks Of Being A Wallflower' from an optional 12th grade novel study. Christian activists testified at multiple school board meetings.ĪARON SCHNEIER: It's not censorship to not have a bunch of erotic, sexually explicit books in school. But last fall, a local high school teacher challenged it and more than a hundred other books. ULABY: 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' was also a hit movie. LOGAN LERMAN: (As Charlie) I really want to turn things around this year. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, 'THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER')

They range from a Nobel Prize winner's first novel to a popular coming-of-age bestseller that came out in the 1990s. NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: Escambia County in northwest Florida has removed or restricted at least 16 books from public school libraries and classrooms. As NPR's Neda Ulaby reports, Penguin Random House is part of a coalition including parents and authors that filed a federal lawsuit today challenging bans in one Florida county.

The largest book publisher in the country has joined forces with PEN America to push back against book banning.

Ashley hope perez