diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
index 54466a09..2ffb4b10 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@ jobs:
   deploy:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: Set up Python
-        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
 
       - name: Install build dependency
         run: pip install build
diff --git a/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
index 2ac3e2af..4f28b5fe 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
@@ -11,12 +11,12 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        python-version: ["3.9", "3.10", "3.11", "3.12", "3.13"]
+        python-version: ["3.10", "3.11", "3.12", "3.13", "3.14"]
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
-        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
         with:
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
       - name: Install dependencies
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Check for missing kwargs
         run: python scripts/find_missing_kwargs.py
       - name: Upload coverage to Codecov
-        uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4
+        uses: codecov/codecov-action@v6
         with:
           fail_ci_if_error: true
           token: ${{ secrets.CODECOV_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.readthedocs.yml b/.readthedocs.yml
index 151e7cc1..22e04999 100644
--- a/.readthedocs.yml
+++ b/.readthedocs.yml
@@ -5,12 +5,15 @@
 # Required
 version: 2
 
+build:
+  os: ubuntu-lts-latest
+  tools:
+    python: "3.13"
+
 # Build documentation in the docs/ directory with Sphinx
 sphinx:
   configuration: docs/conf.py
 
 python:
-  version: 3.7
   install:
     - requirements: dev_requirements.txt
-    
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2bedc43e..15827094 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,23 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [3.6.0] - 2026-04-16
+
+### General
+
+- Added support for Python 3.14
+- Dropped support for Python 3.9
+
+### Bugfixes
+
+- Fixed unexpected behavior from the `obj_or_str` utility function that prevented `Feature`-related functions from accepting `str` arguments.
+
+### Backstage
+
+- Updated minimum `black` version to avoid CVE-2026-32274
+- Updated various GitHub Actions
+- Update readthedocs config to include build info
+
 ## [3.5.0] - 2026-03-12
 
 ### General
@@ -667,7 +684,8 @@ Huge thanks to [@liblit](https://github.com/liblit) for lots of issues, suggesti
 - Fixed some incorrectly defined parameters
 - Fixed an issue where tests would fail due to an improperly configured requires block
 
-[Unreleased]: https://github.com/ucfopen/canvasapi/compare/v3.5.0...develop
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/ucfopen/canvasapi/compare/v3.6.0...develop
+[3.6.0]: https://github.com/ucfopen/canvasapi/compare/v3.5.0...v3.6.0
 [3.5.0]: https://github.com/ucfopen/canvasapi/compare/v3.4.0...v3.5.0
 [3.4.0]: https://github.com/ucfopen/canvasapi/compare/v3.3.0...v3.4.0
 [3.3.0]: https://github.com/ucfopen/canvasapi/compare/v3.2.0...v3.3.0
diff --git a/canvasapi/__init__.py b/canvasapi/__init__.py
index 46277f79..f054979e 100644
--- a/canvasapi/__init__.py
+++ b/canvasapi/__init__.py
@@ -4,4 +4,4 @@
 
 __all__ = ["Canvas"]
 
-__version__ = "3.5.0"
+__version__ = "3.6.0"
diff --git a/canvasapi/util.py b/canvasapi/util.py
index 21c2a02b..a4cc08ed 100644
--- a/canvasapi/util.py
+++ b/canvasapi/util.py
@@ -133,37 +133,34 @@ def obj_or_id(parameter, param_name, object_types):
         raise TypeError(message)
 
 
-def obj_or_str(obj, attr, object_types):
+def obj_or_str(parameter, param_name, object_types):
     """
-    Accepts an object. If the object has the attribute, return the
+    Accepts either an object or a string. If it is a string, return it directly.
+    If it is an object and the object is of correct type, return the object's
     corresponding string. Otherwise, throw an exception.
 
-    :param obj: object from which to retrieve attribute
-    :type obj: object
-    :param attr: name of the attribute to retrieve
-    :type attr: str
+    :param parameter: object from which to retrieve attribute
+    :type parameter: str or object
+    :param param_name: name of the attribute to retrieve
+    :type param_name: str
     :param object_types: tuple containing the types of the object being passed in
     :type object_types: tuple
     :rtype: str
     """
-    try:
-        return str(getattr(obj, attr))
-    except (AttributeError, TypeError):
-        if not isinstance(attr, str):
-            raise TypeError(
-                "Atttibute parameter {} must be of type string".format(attr)
-            )
-        for obj_type in object_types:
-            if isinstance(obj, obj_type):
-                try:
-                    return str(getattr(obj, attr))
-                except AttributeError:
-                    raise AttributeError("{} object does not have {} attribute").format(
-                        obj, attr
-                    )
+    if isinstance(parameter, str):
+        return parameter
 
-        obj_type_list = ",".join([obj_type.__name__ for obj_type in object_types])
-        raise TypeError("Parameter {} must be of type {}.".format(obj, obj_type_list))
+    for obj_type in object_types:
+        if isinstance(parameter, obj_type):
+            try:
+                return str(getattr(parameter, param_name))
+            except AttributeError:
+                raise AttributeError("{} object does not have {} attribute").format(
+                    parameter, param_name
+                )
+
+    obj_type_list = ",".join([obj_type.__name__ for obj_type in object_types])
+    raise TypeError("Parameter {} must be of type {}.".format(parameter, obj_type_list))
 
 
 def get_institution_url(base_url):
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index d0cedd3e..c700948c 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -39,11 +39,11 @@
         "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
         "Operating System :: OS Independent",
         "Programming Language :: Python",
-        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13",
+        "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14",
         "Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries",
     ],
 )
diff --git a/tests/test_util.py b/tests/test_util.py
index cd85648b..211ed597 100644
--- a/tests/test_util.py
+++ b/tests/test_util.py
@@ -431,6 +431,12 @@ def test_obj_or_id_nonuser_self(self, m):
             obj_or_id("self", "user_id", (CourseNickname,))
 
     # obj_or_str()
+    def test_obj_or_str_str(self, m):
+        name = obj_or_str("test", "name", (User,))
+
+        self.assertIsInstance(name, str)
+        self.assertEqual(name, "test")
+
     def test_obj_or_str_obj_attr(self, m):
         register_uris({"user": ["get_by_id"]}, m)
 
@@ -467,8 +473,12 @@ def test_obj_or_str_invalid_attr_parameter(self, m):
             obj_or_str(user, user, (User,))
 
     def test_obj_or_str_invalid_obj_type(self, m):
+        register_uris({"course": ["get_by_id"]}, m)
+
+        course = self.canvas.get_course(1)
+
         with self.assertRaises(TypeError):
-            obj_or_str("user", "name", (User,))
+            obj_or_str(course, "name", (User,))
 
     # get_institution_url()
     def test_get_institution_url(self, m):
diff --git a/tests_requirements.txt b/tests_requirements.txt
index d83fdc09..dca1f670 100644
--- a/tests_requirements.txt
+++ b/tests_requirements.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 -r requirements.txt
 
-black~=25.1.0
+black~=26.3.1
 coverage
 flake8
 isort