Attempts at censorship of books and periodicals used or made available in public schools have been increasing in recent years. Parents are raising a higher proportion of the complaints than ever before, and the percentage of complaints that are successful in having books removed from shelves is also on the rise. Three of seven federal court decisions in this area reached during the period 1972-1979 were made in the Second Circuit and upheld school board decisions to remove materials from classrooms, libraries, or the curriculum on the grounds that the school board is charged with selecting materials that will uphold community values, and thus has the authority to remove materials that do not uphold those values. In three other cases, heard in the Sixth and First Circuits, federal courts held that First Amendment rights to freedom of speech necessarily implied a "freedom to receive" information and that removal of books once available on the grounds that their content was unacceptable abridged that freedom to receive. In these courts, the notion that the school board has the right to set the curriculum was generally accepted, while removal of books from the library by the board raised further issues less easily resolved. (Author/PGD)