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Law and Race Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law and Gender

Fordham Law School

Journal

BIPOC; Board of Education v. Pico; book bans; book removals; constitutional law; equal protection; First Amendment; LGBTQ; PEN American Center v. Escambia County; right to receive information

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Rereading Pico And The Equal Protection Clause, Johany G. Dubon Mar 2024

Rereading Pico And The Equal Protection Clause, Johany G. Dubon

Fordham Law Review

More than forty years ago, in Board of Education v. Pico, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of a school board’s decision to remove books from its libraries. However, the Court’s response was heavily fractured, garnering seven separate opinions. In the plurality opinion, three justices stated that the implicit corollary to a student’s First Amendment right to free speech is the right to receive information. Thus, the plurality announced that the relevant inquiry for reviewing a school’s library book removal actions is whether the school officials intended to deny students access to ideas with which the officials disagreed. …