Carmen NesbittThe Republican representative behind Utah’s statewide school book ban law was ousted last week.
Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, lost his race against Democrat Drew Howells, who secured 58.11% of the vote as of Friday morning. Ivory received about 41.89%.
He acknowledged the defeat in a recent Facebook post.
Two years ago, Ivory sponsored Utah’s sensitive materials law. It requires a book to be removed from all public schools in the state if at least three school districts (or at least two districts and five charter schools) determine it amounts to “objective sensitive material” — pornographic or otherwise indecent content, as defined by state code.
The law applied retroactively, so before it took effect July 1, 2024, districts and charters were asked to reevaluate books they had already banned using the new state criteria.
By August of that year, the state released its first list of 13 titles to remove statewide. At a news conference that month, Ivory celebrated the list’s release, calling it a “bright day” for the state.
Since then, a total of 44 books have been banned from all Utah public schools. Once a title lands on the list, school districts must destroy all copies.
At the Salt Lake City School District, for example, all copies are deposited into a secure shredder.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A stack of books removed from shelves at West High School in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, and bound for the district's secure shredder.
Nearly all of those 44 bans have been driven by just two school districts: Davis and Washington County. Davis is home to a prominent book ban advocate, Brooke Stephens, who shares a connection with Ivory.
Stephens is a leader in the conservative group Utah Parents United and personally launched the social media page “LaVerna in the Library,” which is dedicated to offering parents instructions on how to request that school districts review certain titles for inappropriate content.
She also runs the website RatedBooks.com, which rates books on a 0-5 scale, modeled after the Motion Picture Association’s film ratings. The scale considers 0 suitable for all ages while 5 is “deviant,” or adults-only.
Ivory has cited Stephens’ reviews in communications with constituents, according to email records obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune.
For instance, in 2024, Ivory tapped Stephens to help craft an email response to an “off the charts progressive” constituent, he wrote, who raised concerns about the sensitive materials law.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A school librarian removes banned books from West High School's circulation database in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
Stephens replied to Ivory with a “sample letter” refuting the constituent’s concerns. She also provided links to her book reviews.
“Parents, not local school boards and trained librarians, are the ones who, by Utah Law, get to determine what is appropriate for their children, especially when that content borders on being harmful to minors,” Stephens wrote to Ivory, according to the email.
Ivory also cited Stephens’ book-rating website in a September comment to The Tribune.
At the time, told The Tribune the state’s sensitive materials law directs schools to prioritize “protecting children from the harmful effects of illicit pornography” over everything else.
Ivory did not respond to Tribune requests for comment for this story.
The bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Todd Weiler, wasn’t up for reelection. The Woods Cross Republican was reelected to his latest four-year term in November 2024.
