The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa along with Lambda Legal and the law firm of Jenner and Block have filed a lawsuit representing seven Iowa families. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are challenging state law, Senate File 496.
That bill was signed into law in May of this year by Governor Kim Reynolds. Included in the law are provisions that restrict certain books from school libraries that contain sexual content, including books with graphic images depicting sex acts. Additionally, the law includes restrictions regarding teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation in the education setting. School officials will also be required to notify parents if a student asks to be called by a new name or with a different pronoun.
Iowa is one of a handful of Republican-led states that have passed similar legislation over the past couple of years. In the fight over parental rights and gender and sexual identity expression within the public school system, SF 496 reflects the national debate over how much authority schools can have and whether that authority limits the rights of LGBTQ members and other marginalized students.
The lawsuit which was filed last week is asking the court for an immediate injunction while the case is argued. The suit claims that SF496 infringes on the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of students who will be impacted.
Thomas Story, an ACLU of Iowa attorney, says “The First Amendment does not allow our state or our schools to remove books or issue blanket bans on discussion and materials simply because a group of politicians or parents find them offensive.”
In addition to the infringement of student rights, the plaintiffs' legal teams argue the state cannot appropriately follow the law because of the lack of clarity.
Story says the state is having a difficult time applying the law as Iowa's Department of Education did not release detailed guidance on how school officials should implement the new restrictions. When school districts asked for clarification, they were reportedly told that any case violations would be investigated on a case-by-case basis.
The plaintiffs also weigh concerns about how LGBTQ and marginalized students may be impacted because of the new law. The families have raised concerns over students being discriminated against because of their gender identity. A law that bans the free expression of gender identity and sexual orientation inadvertently creates a target on students who identify as such, the families explain.
The plaintiffs have also expressed their concern for other students who may have questions about their gender identity and sexual orientation but are afraid to discuss the topic with their parents. If such students confide in school personnel and their request to be called by a different name or a different pronoun is reported to their parents, their sense of safety and trust in the school system could be disrupted. Currently, an estimated 1/3 of LGBTQ teens have reported experiencing homelessness or mistreatment from family because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Governor Kim Reynolds has pushed back against the lawsuit, saying that the state’s commitment to “protecting children from pornography and sexually explicit content shouldn’t be controversial.” Governor Reynolds adds, “The real controversy is that it exists in elementary schools. Books with graphic depictions of sex acts have absolutely no place in our schools. If these books were movies, they’d be rated R. The media cannot even air or print excerpts from these books because the content is offensive and inappropriate, yet they promote the narrative that they’re good for kids.”
The lawsuit names Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Iowa Department of Education and director McKenzie Snow, and the Iowa Board of Education, as well as the Iowa City, Sioux City, Urbandale, Waterloo, and West Des Moines school districts.
