Getty Images

States across the country, including Arizona, have enacted laws in recent years dealing with what kinds of books can and cannot be on school library shelves, what topics can and cannot be discussed in classrooms and what curriculum is and is not allowed.

According to a new report from free expression advocacy group PEN America, teachers are often going beyond the requirements of those laws, into an area of what the group calls self-censorship. In fact, it’s referring to the current climate in schools as the "Ed Scare."

Kasey Meehan is the Freedom to Read program director at PEN America. Meehan joined The Show to talk more about this.

More stories from KJZZ

• How ChatGPT helped an Iowa school district ban books — and what it could mean for Arizona
• Bill would allow Arizona Department of Education to create banned books list