Iowa is the latest American state to ban any discussion of gender and sexuality in junior classes at public schools after Governor Kim Reynolds signed off on new laws.
They declare that “a school district shall not provide any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through to Grade-6.”
The legislation establishes additional requirements for library programs operated by public school districts, specifically that the collection contains “only age-appropriate materials.”
It orders school districts to publish a list of books available to students in libraries throughout the school district and implement policies enabling parents to review material in teachers’ individual classroom libraries and other instructional materials.
The package of new laws also prohibits school districts from giving “false or misleading information” to the parent or guardian of a student regarding the child’s gender identity or intention to transition to a gender that is different than the sex listed on their official birth certificate” or an equivalent document.
Schools are required to inform parents if their child requests to go by a name or pronoun that does not align with their given name and biological sex.
Governor Reynolds says the package of “transformational education reform 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 the future.”
