Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a sweeping education law that orders the removal from schools of books that contain sex acts and restricts teaching about LGBTQ+ topics. The new Iowa law, also known as SF 496, prohibits instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The law also requires school administrators to notify parents if their child “requests an accommodation” related to their gender identity, including using a name or pronoun that is different from the one assigned to the student in the school district’s registration forms or records. When it comes to books, the law puts restrictions on school libraries for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The libraries can only have books deemed “age-appropriate,” which, according to the law, excludes any materials with “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act. According to PEN America, there were more book bans across the country during the fall 2022 semester than in each of the prior two semesters. The bans were most prevalent in Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina. About one-third of the titles banned are books about race or racism or feature characters of color.
