DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Senate File 496 brought sweeping changes to education in Iowa. For months, we’ve heard from educators and teachers across the state that there hasn’t been enough guidance on how to comply with the law. Now they may finally be getting it.
At the beginning of the school year, some districts were unsure how to deal with students who wanted to be called by a nickname. Some districts interpreted this as a possible violation of the law because the student was using a name other than the one assigned at birth. The law requires parental permission.
Under the proposed new rules, parental permission will no longer be required for nicknames, unless a student requests a different name to affirm his or her gender identity. The Department of Education says districts must still get parental permission if students want to use pronouns other than the sex they were assigned at birth.
The new law also says districts cannot provide instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Senate File 496 also requires districts to remove books with sex scenes from school libraries. Several schools began compiling lists of books they felt needed to be removed from school shelves. Now the Department of Education says books that do not “describe or visually depict a sexual act” can remain.
The new guidance states that school districts are exempt from this requirement if they share resources with a public library. It only applies to libraries under the direction of school districts.
If the rules are adopted, educators could face penalties from the first of the year. Under the law, the district will receive a written warning the first time a violation occurs. After that, educators could face disciplinary action from the state.
The proposed rules may not be the last word on Senate File 496. Two public hearings are scheduled for January in Des Moines for people who want to weigh in.
“The proposed rules do nothing to address the chilling effect the law has created. So far, hundreds of book titles have been pulled from shelves across the state, and we’ve created ridiculous amounts of paperwork over issues like student nicknames.
“Public education professionals will continue to spend valuable class time trying to comply with vague state mandates.”