Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed a bill to prohibit students from kindergarten through grade six in the state from being provided instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation.
The legislation, Senate File 496, also has several other provisions to restrict age-inappropriate instruction and give parents and guardians more ways to oversee and guide their child’s education with regard to these issues.
This includes banning any books that contain “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act” from libraries and from classroom instruction. However, religious texts will be exempted.
Under the new law, school administrators must notify parents if the student asks to be referred to by a different pronoun or name compared to their biological sex, or name they were given at birth.
SF 496 had passed the state Senate in a 34–16 vote and the state House in a 57–38 vote in April. All Democrats in both chambers had opposed the bill, but that couldn’t stop the GOP majority from passing it.
It was one of seven education-related bills Reynolds signed Friday.
“This legislative session, we secured transformational education reform that puts parents in the driver’s seat, eliminates burdensome regulations on public schools, provides flexibility to raise teacher salaries, and empowers teachers to prepare our kids for their future,” the Republican governor said in a statement.
“Education is the great equalizer and everyone involved—parents, educators, our children—deserves an environment where they can thrive.”
Other Provisions of SF 496
SF 496 also requires more transparency from schools. For example, each school district must put its library catalog online. The school must also explain on its website how parents can request the school to not provide to their child, or to completely remove, a given book or other educational material that the school provides to students via the classroom or library.
