Utah Board Bans Stephen King Book After Four Districts Flag Sensitive Content

The Utah state board of education banned the Stephen King novella collection Different Seasons from all public schools on July 6. Four districts—Davis, Jordan, Tooele and Washington—had removed the book from their libraries earlier in the month, meeting the threshold under state law for a statewide prohibition.

Different Seasons, published in 1982, contains four novellas and had been available to students in grades seven through 12.

Utah code requires removal of a title from every public school when at least three districts, or two districts and five charter schools, determine that it contains objective sensitive material defined as pornographic or indecent content. As of July 15 the state board’s banned books list included 35 titles. The Perks of Being a Wallflower appears on the same list.

In January the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah filed a lawsuit against state officials on behalf of the estate of Kurt Vonnegut and several authors. The suit argues that the book bans violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The ACLU stated in a news release that Utah was trampling on First Amendment protections.