Schools to comply with Iowa’s new ‘bathroom bill’

DES MOINES — Iowa school districts — including those in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Des Moines — announced Thursday they will comply with a new state law that prohibits transgender individuals from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

The bill, signed into law by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday and taking effect immediately, requires anyone attending or visiting public schools use the bathroom and changing facility that aligns with their assigned sex at birth.

Schools also are required to provide students with alternative facilities, such as a single-user unisex restroom, if they request it and have written consent from their parents.

“The newly signed law ... requires students, employees, parents and visitors to use bathrooms, changing rooms and other facilities, according to their sex assigned at birth,” the Cedar Rapids district said in a statement on its website.

“Additionally, federal and state laws prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of gender identity. As a public school district, Cedar Rapids Community School District is required to comply with these laws.”

The district “stands strong in our commitment to welcome and serve our LGBTQ+ population with respect and dignity,” the message stated. “We strive to create safe, supportive and inclusive spaces for all students, staff and families. In particular, we will do everything in our power to support and uplift transgender individuals in our district.”

The statement noted that the “ability to use the restroom is a basic need, and we will ensure it is met in a manner that is least restrictive and least disruptive to our students’ access to their education.“

The Des Moines district is taking the same approach in complying with the law, noting it’s an issue where “people may have strong feelings or be deeply divided,” Superintendent Matthew Smith said in a statement. “However, nothing has changed in our commitment to welcome and serve our LGBTQ+ population with respect and dignity.”

Administrators were meeting Thursday to review the law’s requirements and preparing a form for parents of students who want accommodations in using school facilities.

The Iowa City Community School District is undergoing a similar process, Superintendent Matt Degner said in a statement Thursday.

“(District) administration is still working on guidelines consistent with this new law and will provide guidance to buildings as soon as possible,” he said.

Accommodations

Speaking to reporters Thursday, House Speaker Pat Grassley said Republicans were intentional about keeping accommodations in the bill, and that the bill was written to take immediate effect because school administrators were looking for guidance on the issue.

“The bill was about providing accommodations as well,” he said. “We shouldn’t lose that within the conversation.”

Reynolds also signed a bill Wednesday that bans minors from receiving gender-affirming health care, such as puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries — contradicting the guidance of every major American medical association, which recommend medical interventions as a treatment for gender dysphoria in minors.

Democratic House leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights lambasted Reynolds, who said this week she was put in an uncomfortable position in signing the two bills dealing with transgender youth.

"This is an extremely uncomfortable position for me to be in. And I don’t like it," Reynolds said Tuesday, but she said she believes the legislation is in the best interest of kids.

“I call bull----,” Konfrst told reporters on Thursday. “I don’t think the governor is truly as upset as she says. She is not the victim here. The victim here are kids … who have been targeted over and over and over again by this governor.”

The rapid change caused by the bathroom bill will put transgender students at risk, Konfrst said.

“Imagine being a kid who has identified as a girl throughout elementary school or middle school, who woke up this morning and found out that now all of a sudden, they're less safe at school than they were when they went to school yesterday,” she said. “It is cynical, and it is wrong, to have done this behind closed doors without giving anyone any notice.”

In response to Konfrst’s comments, Reynolds' spokesperson Kollin Crompton compared Democrats’ response to Reynolds’ COVID-19 policies and the response to the transgender youth bills. Reynolds drew the same comparisons Tuesday, and said she does not believe the science on gender-affirming care for youth is settled.

“The governor isn’t going to (be) lectured by Democrats who locked down schools and put our children’s mental health at risk based on inconclusive science,” he said. “Rep. Konfrst is following the same playbook once again — fearmongering, promoting irreversible surgeries and putting our kids’ future health at risk.”

Comments: cmccullough@qctimes.com