Court upholds Iowa law banning sexually explicit school materials

In a knockout punch against efforts to sexualize children, a federal court in Iowa denied a request to block a law that bans sexually explicit books in schools and sexual instruction for young children.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld its February ruling in favor of the law, rejecting a request from liberal groups to retry the issue.

Moms for Liberty celebrated the win, which came following a lengthy legal fight.

“Yesterday, the courts made it clear: Iowa can keep sexually explicit material out of school libraries. Iowa can ensure age-appropriate instruction,” the group posted on X on Tuesday.

Although groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal sued immediately after the 2023 law passed, obtaining an injunction to block its implementation in late December, the state received partial relief the following July when the court allowed a requirement that schools notify parents if a child changes their “gender identity” or pronouns to take effect.

The state successfully reversed the injunction in February of this year, but the plaintiffs requested the matter be reheard and the injunction be reinstated.

In two strongly worded rulings, the three-judge panel denied those requests, stating the law is constitutional and declaring the plaintiffs’ arguments had little chance of success. 

“Both the Supreme Court and this court have held that schools have a legitimate pedagogical interest in prohibiting speech involving sexual content,” it wrote in one of the decisions. “The book restrictions in Senate File 496 address legitimate pedagogical concerns. The law requires schools to curate a library with ‘age-appropriate materials’ that support the school’s curriculum and student achievement goals.”

It also called the earlier injunction “an abuse of discretion” based on “a flawed analysis.”

State Attorney General Brenna Bird described the decisions as “a huge win for parents.” 

“Parents should always know that school is a safe place for their children to learn, not be concerned they are being indoctrinated with inappropriate sexual materials and philosophies. I am grateful that our law protecting children was upheld today.”

Laura Powell, a civil liberties attorney from California, also praised the ruling.

“Limiting school curriculum to appropriate topics is not an infringement on free speech!” she wrote on X.

Sarah Parshall Perry, another attorney, said the Iowa court citing the Supreme Court’s 1988 ruling in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, which affirmed schools can regulate certain types of speech, “bodes well for future efforts to remove sexualized or ‘queer’ material from classrooms and libraries.” 

“Government messages can be controlled by government actors,” she wrote on X.