Utah Bans Stephen King's "Different Seasons" from Schools

The Utah state board of education banned Stephen King's novella collection "Different Seasons" from public schools following decisions by four school districts—Davis, Jordan, Tooele, and Washington—to remove the book due to its content, which they classified as "objectively sensitive material." This ban was enacted on July 6, 2023, and the book was previously available to students in grades seven through 12. Under Utah law, a book is removed from all public schools if at least three school districts or two districts and five charter schools find it contains material that is "pornographic or indecent" or "harmful to minors." As of July 15, 2023, Utah's banned book list includes 35 titles, including "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." The ACLU of Utah filed a lawsuit in January 2023 against state officials on behalf of the estate of Kurt Vonnegut and several bestselling authors, arguing that the book bans are unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, accusing Utah of infringing on First Amendment protections.