2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

Iowa enacted SF496, barring K-6 gender-identity and sexual-orientation instruction and requiring parental notification of students' gender requests

On May 26, 2023, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 496, an omnibus education law passed by the 90th General Assembly on party lines. The law bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through sixth grade, requires school employees to notify parents when a student asks to be addressed by a different name or pronouns, and requires removal of library books depicting sex acts. Republicans framed it as expanding parental rights; LGBTQ-rights groups, educators, and Democrats said it targeted and endangered transgender and LGBTQ students.

Jurisdiction
Iowa
Location
Des Moines, Iowa

Abuses documented

Actors

On Friday, May 26, 2023, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 496, an omnibus "parental rights" education law that the 90th General Assembly had passed with only Republican support. The law bars any instruction "relating to gender identity or sexual orientation" in kindergarten through sixth grade (Iowa Code 279.80) and requires school employees to notify a student's parent or guardian when the student requests an accommodation intended to affirm the student's gender identity — including a request to use a different name or pronouns — while barring staff from knowingly giving a parent false information about a student's gender identity (279.78).

SF496 also directs school districts to remove library materials that depict or describe sex acts, with an exemption for religious texts, and to publish their library catalogs and let parents review instructional materials and request the removal of classroom materials. Reynolds said the measure "puts parents in the driver's seat," and Republican lawmakers described it as limiting a political agenda in schools. The Iowa State Education Association, the LGBTQ-advocacy group Iowa Safe Schools, and legislative Democrats said the law targeted, censored, and endangered transgender and LGBTQ students; Iowa Safe Schools Executive Director Becky Tayler called it "anti-child, anti-parent and anti-educator."

Updates

2023-11-28 — ACLU of Iowa and Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit challenging SF496's instruction and library provisions; Penguin Random House and the Iowa State Education Association filed a separate federal suit two days later [3]

2023-12-29 — A federal district court preliminarily enjoined SF496's library book-removal requirement and its K-6 sexual-orientation and gender-identity instruction ban while litigation proceeded [3]

2024-08-09 — The Eighth Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction and remanded for reconsideration under intervening Supreme Court precedent, allowing SF496 to take effect [4]

2025-05-15 — On remand the district court again enjoined the instruction and book-removal provisions, following a March 25, 2025 order blocking the book ban in the publishers' case [3]

2026-04-06 — The Eighth Circuit again vacated the preliminary injunction, returning SF496 to effect in a narrower form [5]

Why we recorded this

Equal protection under the civil-rights ideal holds that government may not disadvantage people because of who they are. Iowa enacted a law that singles out sexual orientation and gender identity for removal from K-6 instruction and requires school employees to disclose a student's request to be recognized by a different name or pronouns to the student's parents. This archive records government policy that treats LGBTQ students differently on the basis of a protected characteristic and compels school staff to reveal a student's gender identity against the student's wishes.

Sources

  1. Senate File 496 (enrolled), 90th General Assembly — Iowa Legislature primary accessed July 16, 2026
  2. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs sweeping education changes into law — The Gazette secondary accessed July 16, 2026
  3. A Timeline of Iowa's Banned Books/Don't Say LGBTQ Law — ACLU of Iowa secondary accessed July 16, 2026
  4. GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force v. Reynolds, No. 24-1075 (8th Cir. 2024) — Justia (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit) primary accessed July 16, 2026
  5. Appeals court allows Iowa to enforce LGBTQ book ban — The Hill secondary accessed July 16, 2026

See also