Let the ban begin!
An appeals court gave Iowa the green light Friday to ban books depicting sex acts from school libraries and classrooms.
The ruling, overturning a district judge’s previous decision, also puts a stop to instruction and materials on gender identity and sexual orientation with students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
The state law can now be enforced this school year.
Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds hailed the decision, saying in a statement, “Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit confirmed what we already knew — it should be parents who decide when and if sexually explicit books are appropriate for their children.”
Reynolds signed the ban last May.
“This victory ensures age-appropriate books and curriculum in school classrooms and libraries,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a Republican, 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.”
Judge Stephen Locher placed a preliminary injunction on portions of the law in December, saying the ban on the books was “incredibly broad.” In terms of the provision barring any discussion of “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” in elementary school, Locher said the way it was written was “wildly overbroad.”
Enforcement of the law — which has already resulted in the removal of 3,400 books from Iowa schools, the Des Moines Register determined — was set to take effect Jan. 1.
The state appealed the injunction. The appeals court judges overturned it Friday, saying Locher’s decision was based on a “flawed analysis of the law,” according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
The president of the Iowa State Education Association, one of the many groups that sued to overturn the law, said his association is “disappointed” in the ruling.
“Banning essential books in our schools is a burden for our educators, who will face punishment for not guessing which book fits into a supposed offensive category, and for our students, who are deprived of reading from great authors with valuable stories,” Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown said in a statement.