Iowa schools' systems for parents to challenge books isn't enough, say Republicans pushing bill

Republican lawmakers pushed forward legislation Thursday that would allow parents to sue districts over books they believe are obscene.

In doing so, they said certain literature in schools could be used by teachers as "grooming materials" to prey on students and that a trove of books for young adults by mostly Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ authors are the result of a "toxic, cancerous ideology that makes cultures decline."

But Democrats and public school advocates said the bill and some of Republicans' comments on the issue are an attack on teachers and students, and that schools already have systems in place to address book challenges and parental concerns.

The bill would allow parents to sue schools over 'obscene' books

Senate President Jake Chapman, R-Adel, has proposed the measure to allow parents to sue schools for distributing obscene material or “hardcore pornography” to students. It would also specify that penalties for the distribution of those materials apply to teachers and school administrators, although it wouldn't change the definition of such materials in Iowa law.

Chapman introduced the proposal, Senate File 2198, as parents have approached school boards across the state and country with concerns about the content of certain books available in school libraries and classrooms. Some parents don't believe the process is working, he said, and he wants to give them an additional avenue to challenge books.

"Parents are cut completely out of this process, and so this bill allows parents to go to a court to have that determination made," Chapman said.

Despite the challenges, several Iowa school districts have decided to keep some of those books in their libraries after review. Many librarians say that students can be trusted to make decisions for themselves and that, in some cases, the material has proved critical to students' understanding of who they are.

Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, condemned the bill and the comments of some Republicans on the issue, calling the bill "an attack on our kids."

"This bill is part of an orchestrated attack on Iowa's public education system," she added.

Where is the bill in the Iowa Legislature?

The proposal advanced through a Senate subcommittee Thursday morning with a 2-1 vote, with Republican Sens. Brad Zaun of Urbandale and Jason Schultz of Schleswig voting in favor and Petersen voting against. Chapman did not serve on the panel but spoke as the bill's sponsor.

Further changes could be coming to the bill, Chapman said. He said he plans to introduce an amendment that would raise the penalties teachers could face in the bill to an aggravated misdemeanor on the first offense and a class D felony on the second offense, aligning the penalties with those in Iowa code for the rental or sale of hardcore pornography.

What are parents' concerns around books in schools?

Several parents attended Thursday's subcommittee, and some said they had challenged books at their school level but felt that the process wasn't working properly.

"We have educators that want to remove Dr. Seuss from our schools because that's inappropriate," Johnston parent Mandy Gilbert said. "The scenes of a young boy having his penis touched by an adult — this is not obscene? Where did we lose common sense?"

Testimony also included accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior in school settings, which some commenters connected to the literature.

Opponents say some books are taken out of context

But opponents of the bill disputed the idea that the books are obscene. Taken as a whole, they said, the books have literary value and those scenes handle matters that affect youth in the age group that reads them.

Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy for One Iowa, an LGBTQ rights group, also read a passage from the book of Genesis in the Bible that depicts sexual relations between a man and his daughters to illustrate their point about context.

"I don't think that just because this story is in the Bible that the Bible is about rape, incest or any of those other things," Crow said. "That's why we have the test to take the work as a whole and examine it for literary, scientific or other types of value. So I don't believe that there is pornography in our schools today."

Melissa Peterson, a lobbyist with the Iowa State Education Association, said there appear to be "conflicting definitions" of what constitutes obscenity in the debate, and she and other public school advocates said schools already have a process in place to weigh challenges.

The legislation could face an uphill battle. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said last month that he doesn't agree with the idea of charging teachers with felonies. House Republican leaders have indicated they favor measures that would increase transparency in schools but are reluctant to impose penalties on school staff.

The Register's Stephen Gruber-Miller contributed to this report.

Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa 'obscene' books bill could allow parents to sue school districts