House and Senate GOP differ on books with sex acts, parental notification of trans students

The House Education Committee made major changes to one of the session's biggest education bills Thursday, paring back a requirement to notify parents if a student comes out as transgender and adding parents to the state's teacher licensing board.

Senate File 496 as amended would prohibit instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade, require schools to notify parents if a student requests to use new pronouns, and prohibit library books that include graphic depictions of sex acts. It would also create new membership requirements for the Board of Educational Examiners.

The bill is an amalgamation of several education-related proposals at the Iowa Capitol this year, many of which have already passed the House in isolation. Rep. Skyler Wheeler, chair of the House Education Committee, said the bill represents priority policies for House Republicans.

"These are big pieces to us that we'd like (the Senate) to take a second look at properly," Wheeler, R-Hull, said.

The House will need to pass the bill in floor debate, then send its version back to the Senate for consideration. Wheeler said most parts of the bill are agreed to, but some parts are still up for negotiation between chambers.

Democrats on the House Education Committee said they supported some of the changes in Thursday's amendment but still oppose other parts of the bill.

Only books with 'graphic' sex acts would be prohibited

The bill states that only age-appropriate books may be included in K-12 school libraries. Senate lawmakers defined age-appropriate as books that do not include any descriptions or visual depictions of sex acts.

Opponents of the bill warned that banning all books with sex acts would require the removal of some classic literature that includes sexual scenes.

The House Education Committee changed the bill slightly, clarifying that only material with "graphic descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act" would be prohibited.

The bill does not define what details would classify a scene as "graphic."

'Don't lie to parents': House proposes different requirements for notifying parents of a trans student

Lawmakers have volleyed a variety of bills this year about how schools should accommodate transgender students, and when parents need to be involved.

The Senate's version of Senate File 496 required school employees to immediately report to parents if a student expresses a gender identity different from their sex at birth. Opponents of the bill raised concerns that school employees may speculate about a child's gender identity based on their behavior or interests.

The Senate bill also required schools to inform the Department of Health and Human Services if they felt that notifying a student's parents about the child's gender identity would put the child at risk.

The House's amended version doesn't go that far.

It says that school employees may not "knowingly give false or misleading information" to parents about a student's gender identity. If a student requests an accommodation, such as using a new name or pronouns in class, then a school administrator will proactively inform their parents about that request.

The bill does not require anyone to contact the Department of Health and Human Services.

Wheeler said the change is an attempt to make the rule simpler for school districts.

“It’s just simply, ‘Don’t lie to parents about what’s going on with their kids,'" Wheeler said.

The bill would also ban instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through sixth grade.

Reynolds has already signed two laws this year impacting transgender kids: a ban on gender-affirming care for Iowans under 18, and restrictions on using school bathrooms that do not align with one's sex at birth.

Bill would add parents to the Board of Educational Examiners

Iowa's Board of Educational Examiners is a 12-member board that oversees teacher licensing and training. It is responsible for revoking a teacher's license if the employee is convicted of a serious crime involving children, or if there is a founded report of child abuse against the employee.

Under current law, the board comprises nine school teachers or administrators and two members of the public who are appointed by the governor. The 12th member is a representative from the Department of Education.

The bill would change the board entirely: It would be comprised instead of 11 members, including five parents of children who attend a public, private or charter school in Iowa. The parents on the board may not be in elected office, and they may not be school employees or have worked at a school in the last 10 years.

The governor would appoint the five parent members and five teachers or administrators to the board, and the Department of Education representative would be the 11th member.

On Thursday, Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshalltown, compared the change to allowing civilians to help license doctors or plumbers.

"If you have a plumbing problem and have to bring in the plumbing board, would you want four to five plumbers, an owner of a plumbing company, and six people who flushed their toilet that morning to be able to decide the specification of licensure and the other issues?" Cahill said.

The amended bill also lays out new rules for schools to investigate and report wrongdoing by a teacher and to keep a record of serious complaints against the teacher.

What else would the bill do?

The nearly 40-page bill makes a slew of other changes, including:

• Introducing new teacher licensing options.

• Requiring parental consent before students take surveys about mental or emotional health, sexual behavior, illegal activities, political affiliation, religion or family income.

• Striking a requirement for schools to teach about HPV, an HPV vaccine, or AIDS.

• Allowing charter school students to join sports teams at their local public school districts, if their charter school does not offer them.

• Allowing dual enrollment for private school students who require special education.

The House Education Committee removed a requirement for Iowa students to pass a U.S. citizenship test before graduating high school.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her atkakin@registermedia.com or at 410-340-3440. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa bill with ban on books with sex acts, LGBTQ restrictions advances