Boards of Education,

Political Campaigns,
and Censorship

Emily Blomstedt
Introduction

• Over 2,532 books banned in U.S. since 2021

• Most contained LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation

• How has censorship of children’s media and

education been used in state and local school
board political campaigns?
• In states where there have not been successful bans, more
candidates run for school board using censorship as a
political strategy.
Literature Review

• Censorship • State and District • Local Political

School Boards Campaign Strategies
• Language usage can
determine who is for • Individual districts set • Relied on TV ads
and against their election time
(Yanich 2020)
(Anzia 2011)
• “book removals” vs • Social media =
“banning books” • Traditionally
nonpartisan cheaper (Fowler et al.
(Schroeder 2021)
2021)
• Recent trend:
• Book/curriculum increased partisan • Fliers/Voter Guides
challenges (Knox polarization
2019; Adler 1988) (Hartney & Finger
2022)
• Self-censorship
Theory: Bottom-Up
1. Parent contacts faculty about a book in library or subject taught to be completely removed
2. The school tries to find a solution and ultimately keeps the book/subject in place
3. Parent is disgruntled and speaks with other community members to form a coalition
4. After further unsuccessful attempts, the group takes their complaints to social media
5. Draws the attention of local media outlets and rest of outspoken camp
6. Public comment at meetings increasingly involve the challenges to educational materials
7. Perceived inaction causes the pro-censorship camp to look for candidates who support their
side
8. The candidates use language supporting censorship or are outwardly supported by the pro-
censorship camp
9. Districts where censorship has become a topic of interest have an increase in candidates
using censorship as a political strategy
Theory: Top-Down
1. National party or higher official identifies a personal concern with a book or curriculum in public schools
2. National party/higher official voices their concern publicly on social media or press release
3. The concern spreads to local communities and they bring it to their school board
4. The school board tries to address the concerns, but it has spread too far into the public conscious
5. Social media continues to spiral between the two camps: one being concerned about what is in schools,
the other concerned about censorship
6. Demands for removal of educational materials continue at school board meetings but are met with an
unwavering board
7. New interest groups form combining national and local rhetoric
8. Formation of interest groups allows for a more concise and cohesive strategy for/against the board
9. The interest groups help keep the issue front of mind, even if social media winds down
10. With no change in the board, interest groups look toward the next election cycle
11. Interest groups find a candidate to support which fits their interest
Research Design: Case Study

• Nebraska State Board of Education: 2021-2022

• First draft of Health Standards: March 2021
• Election Results: November 2022
• Shows the impact a national reckoning with censorship can
have on the function of education boards, and the impact
that this can have on election campaigns/outcomes.
• Analysis of candidates for Nebraska Board of Education
• 4 districts in 2022
• Social media presence, where they got their funding from,
what PACs and leaders supported them, actions in meetings
if running for reelection
Conclusion

• In this case study, there seems to be a correlation

between national calls for censorship, individual
state boards rejecting that notion, and candidates
running for office using censorship as a political
strategy.
• While perhaps difficult to tell if this could be a
trend overtime, or even between states, it is still
significant for the immediate future of the
Nebraska Board of Education.