Coordinate a biweekly action team that responds to book bans and educational gag orders by contacting decision-makers, supporting affected educators and librarians, and sharing accurate information.

Run a biweekly action team focused on two connected fronts: book bans in schools and libraries, and laws restricting what educators can say and teach. The work is primarily writing and outreach. The facilitators monitor book bans and educational gag orders as they happen across the country, bring them to the group, and coordinate the team's response.

Responses can include writing to local, state, and national representatives, reaching out to the local press in the area of the ban or law, sharing accurate information on social media, and contacting school boards and library systems to thank them for pushing back or to encourage them to take a stand.

The team also supports participants who are interested in running for local office or serving on library boards and school boards.

Two facilitators share the workload. One can focus on book bans while the other tracks educational gag orders, or they can divide the work however makes sense. The group meets every other week via Zoom or Discord to coordinate, divide up tasks, share updates, and plan the next round of outreach. Off-weeks are for carrying out the work.

The group caps at 15 participants.

Essential skills:

• Ability to monitor news sources for book bans and educational censorship developments
• Strong written communication skills for letters, emails, and social media
• Comfort coordinating group tasks and keeping a team organized
• Willingness to engage with contentious political topics

NOT required:

• Legal expertise or policy background
• Prior advocacy or lobbying experience

Operative must provide:

• An account with the digital platform that will host the team meetings
• Monitoring of news and organizational alerts for book bans and educational gag orders
• Coordination of team outreach between meetings
• Promotion and participant recruitment for the team

MFU will provide:

• An interest form on the MFU website to help identify the best times for the meetings
• A scheduling app on the MFU website that allows people to sign up for the team
• A channel on the MFU Discord server for coordination and discussion
• Template letters and outreach guides, if needed
• Promotion and participant recruitment for the team

You are welcome to use these sources to help you get started:

• PEN America's book bans page tracks book bans in public schools nationwide and publishes detailed reports on the scope and patterns of censorship. Their educational gag orders tracker documents state-level legislation restricting what educators can teach.
• The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom maintains data on challenged and banned books and provides resources for responding to challenges.
• United Against Book Bans is a national coalition that provides tools for contacting elected officials, responding to local challenges, and organizing community support.
• The New York Public Library's Freedom to Read resource provides free digital access to banned and challenged books and context on why these titles matter.
• The Freedom to Read Foundation provides legal and financial support for libraries and librarians facing challenges to intellectual freedom.

For general questions, you can message your handler through your dashboard, contact @Owlett on Discord, or email info@myflyinguniversity.org.

If you have an idea for a different approach to all or part of this mission, please feel free to reach out before you get started!