Hunter
02/13/23
Governor Kim Reynolds has filed a new bill that would fine school districts up to $5000 for violating what she calls “parental rights” in education.
Iowa Starting Line reports that the first violation would result in a written warning to a school board, and a second or subsequent violation would involve a civil penalty of up to $5,000. The money from those penalties would go toward re-training teachers who violate the “parental rights” portion of the law to comply with it.
The bill also seeks to do away with what some parents consider pornographic materials. A new definition for “sexually explicit material” says a book, as a whole, does not have literary, artistic, political, or scientific value if it contains any material appealing to sexual interests, or depicts sex acts or genitals in a sexual way. The language is similar to bills pushed nationwide by conservative parent groups to remove books considered inappropriate for children.
Reynolds’ bill would require schools to publish a list of “all books available to students in the classroom and in libraries operated by the school district.” It would also require schools to provide an explanation for how parents or guardians can request material be removed and how to request a review of decisions made by school boards to keep books.