A federal judge on Friday blocked key parts of an Iowa law that banned some books from school libraries and prohibited teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues.
Judge Stephen Locher’s preliminary injunction halted enforcement of the law, which was set to take effect Jan. 1 but has resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from Iowa schools.
The law, which was passed by a Republican-led Legislature and a GOP Governor. Kim Reynolds in early 2023, banned books depicting sexual acts from school libraries and classrooms and prohibited teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students up to sixth grade.
Locher blocked the enforcement of both provisions.
He said the ban on books was “extremely broad” and had resulted in the removal of history volumes, classics, award-winning novels and “even books designed to help students avoid becoming victims of sexual assault.” He said that some of the laws may not meet the constitutional requirement for freedom of speech.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds speaks during an interview. AP
In blocking a provision preventing any discussion of “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” in elementary schools, Locher said the way it was written it was “too broad.”
The judge allowed a condition that school administrators notify parents if their child asks to change their pronouns or names, saying the plaintiffs lacked standing.
Iowa’s move is part of a wave of similar laws across the country. Mostly supported by Republican lawmakers, the law aims to ban discussion of gender and sexual orientation issues, ban treatments such as puberty blockers for transgender children, and restrict the use of restrooms in schools. Many have sparked court challenges.
Opponents of the Iowa law filed two lawsuits. One was on behalf of the organization Iowa Safe Schools and seven students, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Lambda Legal. The others are by the Iowa State Education Association, publisher Penguin Random House and four authors.
The law will prohibit teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues. AP
The first lawsuit argued the action was unconstitutional because it violated students’ and teachers’ free speech and equal protection rights. The second suit, which focused more narrowly on the book ban, argued that the law violated the equal protection clauses of the first and 14th Amendments.
Attorneys for both lawsuits say the law is broad and confusing.
At the Dec. 22 hearing, Daniel Johnston with the Iowa attorney general’s office argued that school officials had applied the book ban too broadly. When deciding whether to remove a book, educators should not focus on the idea of a sex act but instead look for text or images that meet Iowa’s definition of a sex act, Johnston said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
