MCTE aligns with our parent organization, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), in recognition that all students deserve access to developmentally appropriate curriculum and materials that promote critical inquiry, represent diverse perspectives, including those who are BIPOC and LGBTQ+, and foster respect for all. NCTE offers resources and guidance for educators in selecting materials during this time of increased book and curricular challenges in schools. Please visit NCTE’s Intellectual Freedom Center.
For additional support on intellectual freedom issues, connect with a member of our advocacy group composed of MCTE members and experts who are familiar with the diverse teaching contexts in Minnesota. Email Lisa Ortmann, MCTE Intellectual Freedom Chair, at intellectual.freedom@mcte.org.
Censorship Support for Members
Want to let us know about a censorship issue in your school? Please contact us via email or complete this censorship support form.
MCTE Intellectual Freedom Resources
Sullivan & Ortmann, 2025. “Surveying the Landscape: Minnesota’s ELA Teachers’ Perspectives on Intellectual Freedom.” Article in Minnesota English Journal.
Minnesota Library Association – Includes resources intended for school librarians to prepare for, work through, and report a book challenge. The ongoing advocacy tab offers tools to help educators build their knowledge of Minnesota processes, policies, and advocacy for intellectual freedom.
ALA Report Censorship Toolkit– Includes web and print-based messaging, letter writing templates, reporting forms, and other resources for educators to amplify the message of “reporting censorship”
NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center — Includes resources for educators such as guidelines for selection of materials and dealing with censorship, a book censorship action kit, position statements on students’ rights to read, “red-flagging,” and classroom libraries, as well as access to the book rationale database.
Resources from Recent Conference Presentations
2026 MCTE Spring Conference Session “Back on the Shelf: Reinstating Banned Books into our Classrooms” – Shares stories of educator response to censorship and provides advocacy tools for teaching challenged texts.
2025 NCTE Annual Convention Session “Intellectual Freedom Dreams Deferred: Banned in the Blue(ish) States” — MCTE presenters joined panelists from CA, TX, NY, and Washington DC to examine the impacts of a national climate of censorship, even when laws and policies are in place to protect intellectual freedom.
2025 MCTE Spring Conference Session “Intellectual Freedom Panel Discussion” — Includes resources shared with attendees from educators across the state.
2024 MCTE Spring Conference Session “MCTE Intellectual Freedom & Teacher Advocacy” — Presents survey findings of MN educators’ experiences with book challenges and censorship.
2023 MCTE Spring Conference Book Rationales Workshop Resources (Arnold & Lloyd, 2023).
2022 MCTE Spring Conference Session “When Reading Gets Risky: Selecting and Defending Literature for the Classroom” (Scarbrough & Lloyd, 2022).
MN Educator Resources for Teaching During Immigration Enforcement Raids
This document, created by members of the MCTE Intellectual Freedom and Advocacy Committee, is intended to provide MN educators with updated information, toolkits, and verified media sources regarding recent federal immigration raids in Minnesota. If you have a resource you would like to add, please email MCTE Intellectual Freedom Chair intellectual.freedom@mcte.org.