Des Moines, Iowa — A bill to ban Iowa schools from having materials or instruction about gender identity in kindergarten through eighth-grade classes has cleared a senate subcommittee.
Bill backer Amber Williams of Urbandale says as a kid, she was a tomboy.
Jill Bjorklund of Ankeny, an opponent of the bill, spoke on behalf of Lily, her seven-year-old.
The bill says parents could sue a school if there’s any instruction about gender identity in elementary or junior high. Pam Gronau of Urbandale says schools should focus on reading and math.
Stacy Schmidt, a social studies teacher in Des Moines, says the bill sends the message that LGBTQ students should be ashamed of who they are.
A house subcommittee has approved another bill that would require educators to get written permission from a parent before referring to a student by a gender that’s different from the one listed on the student’s birth certificate. The bill is co-sponsored by 40 of the 64 Republicans in the Iowa House and it would forbid teachers from encouraging or coercing a student to transition to a different gender.
