ACLU files lawsuit for the right to read in Utah
Freadom fighters rejoice! On January 6, 2026, the ACLU of Utah, along with law firms Parr Brown Gee & Loveless and Spencer Fane, LLC, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Utah's Sensitive Materials Law. If you've followed us for any length of time, you'll know that this law has resulted in 22 books being banned statewide.
The ACLU of Utah has an excellent news release with a link to the complaint they filed. We invite you to read both. However, here's a quick and dirty explainer of what is happening:
Who is suing?
The ACLU of Utah and the law firms Parr Brown Gee & Loveless and Spencer Fane, LLC, represent several authors and two high school students who are asking the court to overturn Utah's Sensitive Materials Law because it violates their constitutional rights. The authors include the Kurt Vonnegut Estate (author of the award-winning and best-selling book, Slaughter-House Five), Elana K. Arnold (author of award-winning books such as Damsel and What Girls Are Made Of), and Amy Reed (author of critically-acclaimed books for teens such as Beautiful and The Nowhere Girls). All of these authors have been harmed because their books have been banned in Utah school districts.
The two high school students are not identified, but their words are worth reading. Even if you read nothing else from the complaint, please check out their stories on pages 19–20. We applaud their bravery in standing up to this law.
Who is being sued?
The lawsuit names several defendants, including the Utah Attorney General, Derek Brown (because he enforces the law), the Utah State Board of Education and State School Board Members (because they implement the law across Utah's public schools), and three Utah school districts and their superintendents and school board members (because they make decisions about banning books at the local school level). These school districts include Davis and Washington School Districts, which, as of 2024, were collectively responsible for 78% of all book bans in Utah. Salt Lake City School District is also included because they removed 22 books from their school library shelves.
Where was this lawsuit filed?
This lawsuit was filed in the Federal District Court of the District of Utah.
What Constitutional rights are at issue?
The authors and students both argue that Utah's Sensitive Materials Law violates their First Amendment rights. The authors argue that the law creates unreasonable "content-based" restrictions that prevent their books from reaching young adult audiences. The complaint notes (and we agree) that not all books should be made available to all students. For example, Beloved by Toni Morrison is not age-appropriate for a kindergartener. But Utah's Sensitive Materials Law goes beyond that and prevents all students, regardless of age, from reading books that depict sex "no matter how fleeting, no matter its context, and no matter its literary, artistic, political, or scientific value." Importantly, it's already illegal to give obscene material to minors. Because Utah's law is overbroad and removes books that aren't actually obscene to older teen readers, the authors argue that it violates their First Amendment rights.
As for the students, they argue that Utah's Sensitive Materials Law denies them access to books in their school libraries. Like the authors, the students argue that the content-based restrictions are too broad and take away their access to books that aren't actually obscene.
What do the authors and students want?
The authors and students are asking the court for three main things:
1) A declaratory judgment, which is a court order saying that Utah's Sensitive Materials Law is unconstitutional because it violates the authors' and students' constitutional rights;
2) A permanent injunction, which is a court order that would require Utah's attorney general, the Utah State Board of Education, and all Utah school districts to stop banning books using Utah's Sensitive Materials Law; and
3) An order requiring Utah public schools to return all banned books to the shelves.
What happens next?
The authors and students have asked the court to hold a hearing on their request for a declaratory judgment. In the coming days, both sides will have a chance to file briefs (aka written arguments) on whether the court should grant the preliminary injunction (i.e. whether the court should require Utah and the schools to stop banning books).
We'll be watching this case closely and will send out relevant updates. We are grateful to the hard work of the attorneys, authors, and students participating in this case. Thanks to their bravery, we have a shot at returning the freedom to read to Utah.