Every child deserves to walk into their school library and find a book that reflects their life. Every student deserves to feel safe in their classroom. Iowa's SF 496 threatens both of those things — and a federal appeals court just cleared the way for it to take full effect.

The law bans books from school libraries and classrooms based on descriptions of certain sex acts, a provision so sweeping that it has already pulled titles from shelves across the state — not just explicit content, but award-winning literature that helps young people understand the world and themselves. Publishers, bestselling authors, and teachers have called it exactly what it is: a blunt instrument that goes far beyond protecting children and instead erases whole categories of human experience from the places kids go to learn and grow.

The same law restricts any discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation through sixth grade and — most alarmingly — requires school administrators to notify parents when a student socially transitions or asks to be called by a different name or pronoun at school. For many LGBTQ+ kids, school is the one place they feel seen. Forced outing by school officials can expose vulnerable children to rejection, or worse, at home. Lambda Legal, which represents students challenging the law, has called this provision what it is: cruel and potentially dangerous.

These are not abstract policy debates. There are real kids in Iowa classrooms right now who are watching their school libraries get emptied and wondering if there is any space left where they belong.

We're calling on the Iowa General Assembly and Governor Kim Reynolds to repeal SF 496 — the book ban, the classroom restrictions, and the forced outing provision. Iowa's students deserve libraries full of books, classrooms where they feel safe, and schools that do not put them at risk.

Sign this petition to stand with Iowa's students, educators, and families who believe every child deserves to feel accepted in their school.