Federal judges allow Iowa book ban to take effect this school year

Iowa can enforce a book ban this school year following a Friday ruling by a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district judge's earlier decision that temporarily halted key parts of the law, including a ban on books depicting sex acts in school libraries and classrooms.

The law, which the Republican-led Legislature and GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds approved in 2023, also forbids teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with younger students.

Reynolds said in a statement that the ruling reinforces the belief that “it should be parents who decide when and if sexually explicit books are appropriate for their children.”

“This victory ensures age-appropriate books and curriculum in school classrooms and libraries,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a statement. "With this win, parents will no longer have to fear what their kids have access to in schools when they are not around.”

LGBTQIA+ youth, teachers and major publishers sued in November to permanently overturn the law, which they say resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from Iowa schools before U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher blocked its enforcement in December.

In addition to schools removing books with LGBTQ+ themes from libraires, they also shut down extracurricular clubs dealing with those issues and removed pride flags from classrooms, the students’ attorneys argued in court. Students had to censor themselves about their gender identities and sexual orientations, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys.

“Denying LGBTQ+ youth the chance to see themselves represented in classrooms and books sends a harmful message of shame and stigma that should not exist in schools," plaintiffs’ attorneys Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Iowa and Jenner & Block said in a joint statement.

Attorneys for the state of Iowa argued that the law is constitutional and that the state has a right to enforce it.

Iowa enacted its law amid a wave of similar legislation nationwide. Republican lawmakers typically propose the laws, saying they are designed to affirm parents’ rights and protect children. The laws often seek to prohibit discussion of gender and sexual orientation, ban treatments such as puberty blockers for transgender children, and restrict the use of restrooms in schools. Many have prompted court challenges.