Iowa GOP passes education bill that bans books with sex and limits LGBTQ instruction
The Iowa Legislature has passed a sweeping education bill that limits instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation, removes school books depicting sex acts and explicitly states that parents have a "constitutionally protected right" to make decisions for their children.
The wide-ranging Senate File 496 had bounced between chambers as the House and Senate took turns rewriting the legislation. Sen. Ken Rozenboom, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said the final bill is "a good-faith effort to reflect the will of both chambers."
The Senate voted 34-16 on Wednesday evening to pass the bill. The House passed it Thursday afternoon, 57-38. Four House Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.
It now goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.
“Parents are the ultimate decisionmakers for their children. This legislation defines parents’ rights in law, requires transparency, and sets boundaries to protect Iowa’s children from woke indoctrination," Reynolds said in an emailed statement Thursday evening. "I will always fight for Iowa’s parents as they know what is best for their children.”
The bill would ban school books that include descriptions or visual depictions of sex acts — a response to Republican concerns about inappropriate books in schools.
The bill prohibits any instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through sixth grade. It also requires school administrators to inform a student's parents if the student requests to use new pronouns at school.
Republicans have framed the legislation as a matter of parental rights. The bill would codify that Iowa parents have the "fundamental, constitutionally protected right" to make decisions regarding their child under 18.
"It is wrong for schools to keep secrets from parents about their kids. It is wrong to push political agendas in the classroom. And it is wrong to put pornography in front of children," said Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull.
Iowa Democrats have opposed the bill at every turn, through multiple rounds of debate in both chambers. Democrats argued the ban on books is too broad and will remove pieces of classic literature, and they say the required parental notification of a pronoun change could threaten the safety of some transgender kids.
"You want parents' rights, but only when it is in things you believe in," said Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshallton. "I've said it before and I'll ask it again: Where are my rights? Where are the rights of other parents who don't agree with you?"
Many provisions of the bill will not take effect immediately with Reynolds' signature.
Instead, the majority of the legislation — including the limits on gender identity and sexual orientation and the parental notification for transgender students — will take effect on July 1.
The new book restrictions will not be enforceable until Jan. 1, 2024.
Schools must remove books that include descriptions of sex acts
The bill would remove school books with any description or visual depiction of a sex act, which Iowa law defines as a list of specific kinds of sexual contact between two or more people.
There is an exception for religious books, including the Bible, the Torah and the Koran, which Iowa law already states "shall not be excluded from any public school." The bill also exempts materials for human growth and development classes.
House Speaker Pat Grassley said the bill creates new standards for schools to follow statewide.
"I'm not sure what the perfect solution is to this," Grassley, R-New Hartford said. "We felt that this was the best way to approach it, so that way it wasn't an individual picking of books."
Beginning in 2024, the Iowa Department of Education and the Board of Educational Examiners would be tasked with disciplining school superintendents or employees for violations of the law. A House Republican staffer said school employees would only be in violation of the law if they refuse to remove a book that contains sex acts.
Senate Democrats said the restriction was censorship.
"In the case of many of the books the majority party is attempting to remove from the shelves with this new obscenity rule, they have immense value — whether that be literary, or artistic or historically," said Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids. "The majority party wishes to ban some of the greatest literary works of all time, because it offends or challenges their world view."
Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, argued the law does not constitute a book ban, since parents can still choose which books to share with their children outside of school.
"This material is disgusting and does not belong in our schools," Zaun said, referring to printed-out panels from the graphic memoir Gender Queer. "If parents want to show this and have their sons or daughters read this material, go buy it."
School books have been a flashpoint in Iowa politics over the last several years, as Republicans have protested the inclusion of books they believe to be inappropriate for students.
The bill would also require districts to post a list of all books available in the library and provide detailed instructions to request the review or removal of educational materials.
Iowa schools would be required to protect the identity of a parent who calls for the removal of a book or other instructional material.
More: Iowa LGBTQ families ask if they still belong after new laws restrict their rights
LGBTQ restrictions: No gender ID through sixth grade, and parental notification for transgender students
Iowa Republican lawmakers have passed several new restrictions on what accommodations and medical care are accessible to transgender kids in Iowa. Bills passed this year prohibit gender-affirming care for transgender minors and bar transgender kids from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
Senate File 496 bans instruction on gender identity from kindergarten through sixth grade, and it requires schools to notify parents if a student requests a gender-affirming accommodation, such as using a new name or pronoun.
Under the bill, school districts would be forbidden from providing "any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion or instruction" relating to gender identity or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
A March Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found that a majority of Iowa adults, 54%, approved of bans on teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation before sixth grade.
The bill would require school administrators to notify a student's parents if the student requested to use a new name or pronouns to affirm their gender identity.
If a teacher or administrator fails to inform parents when a student asks to use new pronouns, or if a school employee withholds information from parents about a student's gender identity, the teacher or the school district may be subject to discipline by the board of educational examiners.
Iowa Republicans focused on the issue after the Linn-Mar Community School District came under fire for a policy that allowed students in seventh grade and above to request a different name or pronoun be used at school without parental consent or notification.
Democrats on Wednesday argued the new requirements could put transgender kids in danger if their families are not supportive.
"This bill is unnecessary and blatantly hateful," Donahue said. "In addition to book bans, this bill strips civil rights from children to be who they are at school, forcing them to lose the space that was once a safe place for them, and putting a wedge between students and teachers and some parents."
Zaun responded that the intention of the bill is to "give parents rights to know what's going on," not to hurt transgender kids.
"I don't hate these young people. No one in this chamber hates young people," Zaun said. "These issues that we're talking about here today should be done with the parents, through a psychologist or a counselor. They shouldn't be done in schools."
Senate File 496 creates a new section of law to codify parental rights, stating that Iowa gives parents the "fundamental, constitutionally protected right" to make decisions regarding the education, religious and moral upbringing, or medical care for their child under 18. The bill makes an exception for a new law prohibiting gender-affirming care for transgender kids under 18 in Iowa.
More: Iowa Poll: Majorities support bans on gender-affirming care for kids, LGBTQ teaching limits
Bill adds bullying notification, options to transfer schools
Senate File 496 adds new options and requirements for schools to address bullying.
The bill requires school officials to notify a family within 24 hours if the school receives a report that the student may have been the victim of harassment or bullying, or if a school employee witnesses bullying.
If a parent receives a report from the school or sees video surveillance footage of their child being bullied, the parent can request to move their student to a different school within the same school district.
These provisions of the bill will take effect immediately after Reynolds signs the bill into law.
Legislature passes more changes to graduation requirements, librarian qualifications
The House on Thursday passed another broad education bill, Senate File 391, sending it to Reynolds to be signed into law.
That bill would change the professional requirements for a school librarian. Under current law, schools must have a licensed teacher librarian. The bill would allow schools to hire a public library professional for the position, and they would not be required to hold a master's degree.
Senate File 391 would also:
Eliminate the state-mandated "comprehensive school improvement plan," requiring school districts only to complete a report required by federal law.
Prohibit schools from offering more than five days of primarily internet instruction per school year, with exceptions for virtual schools.
Expand options for community college instructors to teach in public schools.
Allow teachers to teach two sequential units simultaneously in one classroom.
Lower the number of classes required for foreign language and fine arts classes.
Exempt students from physical education if they participate in a school-sponsored activity that "requires at least as much physical activity."
Remove the requirement to teach about AIDS.
Senate File 496 makes more technical changes to Iowa schools. It would:
Remove the requirement to teach about AIDS, HPV and the HPV vaccine.
Require written parental consent before a student participates in a survey about their mental, emotional or physical health, or any survey that asks about political affiliation, sexual behavior, illegal activities, religion or family income.
Prohibits students from serving on the committee to decide if materials should be removed from a school library.
Allows children who need special education to dual enroll in a private and public school.
Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com or at 410-340-3440. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa GOP bill would ban school books with sex, restrict LGBTQ teaching
