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Senate passes LGBTQ, graphic materials bill, again
But new version has to go back to House, again
Apr. 19, 2023 7:51 pm
DES MOINES — A sweeping education policy bill continues to bounce back and forth between Republican lawmakers, with agreement remaining elusive.
Republicans basically agree on the major policy points: no sex acts in school books and classroom materials; no sexual orientation and gender identity teaching until seventh grade; and notification of parents if students wish to change their pronouns.
Senate Republicans on Wednesday night passed the bill for a second time but only after removing most of the elements that House Republicans had inserted when they passed it earlier this month.
Because the bill was once again amended, Senate File 496 must go back to the House before it can be sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.
Democrats, meantime, remain in consistent, unified and vociferous opposition to the bill in all its forms.
Among the many provisions in the Senate-passed bill:
- Gender identity and sexual orientation could not be taught until seventh grade.
- Any licensed professional must report to a student’s parents when that student expresses a desire to be addressed by a different pronoun.
- Books and classroom material that contain descriptions of depictions of sexual acts would not be allowed in schools, and schools would be required to have in place a process by which parents could protest other books or materials. The latest update in the Senate would exempt any religious books, including the Bible, Torah or Quran.
Sen. Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa who has managed the bill in the Senate, pushed back at critics of the myriad proposals, calling the legislation “a good bill.”
“It clearly establishes the guardrails that most Iowans believe to be reasonable and fair. In fact, this bill matches up with what most schools are doing right now and with what parents expect their school to be doing,” Rozenboom said. “We must put the parents back in charge of their children’s education.”
Democrats, echoing concerns expressed throughout the legislative session by LGBTQ Iowans and groups who advocate for them, argued the bill will prove harmful to those students.
And they argued the bill would put educators and professional staff at schools, like counselors and social workers, in precarious positions — perhaps even force them to violate their profession’s code of ethics — by requiring them to break the confidence of students who may share with them a preferred gender identity.
“It is a government overreach on education in all forms. This bill is hateful and targeted. It does not protect all children,” said Sen. Molly Donahue, a Democrat and teacher from Cedar Rapids.
Sen. Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, pushed back at arguments the legislation targets LGBTQ students. He and other Republicans said the bill is about the rights of parents to be involved in their children’s education.
“These issues that we’re talking about today should be done with the parents, through a psychologist or a counselor. They shouldn’t be done in schools,” Zaun said. “Let parents be parents and let kids be kids.”
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com
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