Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed a bill to prohibit students from kindergarten through grade six in the state from being provided instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation.
The legislation, Senate File 496, also has several other provisions to restrict age-inappropriate instruction and give parents and guardians more ways to oversee and guide their child’s education with regard to these issues.
This includes banning any books that contain “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act” from libraries and from classroom instruction. However, religious texts will be exempted.
Under the new law, school administrators must notify parents if the student asks to be referred to by a different pronoun or name compared to their biological sex, or name they were given at birth….