Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds recently signed SF 496 into law, which includes provisions for banning books from all grades of public schools that contain “sexual descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act" and prohibits the discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation in grades K-6. The law does not provide a definition of what content would violate the law, leaving our teachers and librarians completely in the dark. 

The Iowa Department of Education, which historically provides Iowa’s schools with direction on interpreting new laws, recently informed public schools that it will not offer any guidance whatsoever on what books or content would violate the law. Instead, schools were told to consult their legal counsel if they had questions. Seeking advice from attorneys will be another financial drain on our already suffering schools. And, while the people who bring challenges under the new law are afforded the privilege of remaining anonymous so that the public won’t know who is undermining our kids’ education, teachers will have to live under the threat of disciplinary action from the state’s board of education examiners if they violate the law even though they have absolutely no way to understand the law.

This vagueness is deliberate on the part of the legislature in order to chill free speech.  Understandably, without any guidance, teachers, librarians, and administrators will choose to err on the side of caution; the cost of not doing so is the loss of their livelihood.

If public school libraries and classroom libraries are to be minimally impacted, as Iowa Republicans claim, then the State must provide schools with a framework for evaluating their library catalogs. 

As concerned parents, teachers, students, and librarians determined to preserve the right to read as protected by the First Amendment, we demand that the Iowa Department of Education be held responsible for providing the following to public school teachers, librarians, and administrators:

1. Clear definitions of what the Department considers to meet the definition of "descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act."
2. Clear definitions of what the Department considers to meet the definition of a "program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation."
3. Specific words and phrases that educators need to look for should be listed.  If certain words and phrases are considered acceptable for one age group but not another, that should also be defined.
4. A list of titles commonly found in public school libraries and classrooms that the Department of Education believes to be in violation of the law. The list need not be exhaustive, but the Department surely has titles in mind. Providing schools with such a resource would help them to apply similar logic to other books in their collections.

In addition, the citizens of Iowa demand transparency from the Iowa Department of Education through the following:

1. A public website with the above information so that parents and citizens understand what materials are being kept from their children.
2. A publicly available list of all books removed from public school libraries as a result of this law.  The Department of Education will develop a reporting tool and require schools to report books that are removed on at least a monthly basis.   
3. A publicly available list of all books removed from classroom libraries.  Participation in this would be voluntary at the school level.
4. Requiring that school boards include a standing agenda item to report any library book removals, including the title, location, and quantity.

If the State of Iowa and the Department of Education won't do the right thing, we will--Annie's Foundation has created an anonymous reporting tool where you can report book removals.

At Annie's Foundation, our mission is to ensure members of our community have unhindered access to books and characters that reflect the diversity and complexity of the world around them.