The word “ban” is Vox’s editorialization. These laws don’t “ban” ideas—they regulate the content of what school boards can include in school curriculums. In a sense these regulate students’ “thoughts” insofar as we expect public schools to teach kids to believe certain things and not other things. But that’s the point of school! Schools inherently must decide between how to teach certain things.

This is a good point. Then again, the ideologies they're fighting as "divisive" have been pushing the position that some ideas can be harmful. So it seems like their own rhetoric is now being used against them, and if they don't like it, maybe they should rethink their own positions on this particular issue.

>their own rhetoric is now being used against them...maybe they should rethink their own positions

Make no mistake, it's always been about whose ideas should prevail.

"Cancel culture" is not a one-sided phenomenon.

But, pushing back against it is an effective way to silence demands for consequences.