Des Moines, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s working on legislation that would set parameters for local school officials to follow when parents object to books in the school library.
This fall, two Republicans in the state senate proposed charging teachers and school librarians with a crime if students have access at school to certain books. Reynolds instead suggests that parents be given easy access to a list of books in the school library and the books are being used in the classroom as well as a process to follow in their local district if they object to certain books.
Senator Amy Sinclair of Allerton is chair of the Senate Education Committee. Sinclair says there’s a difference between a public library and the library inside a public school and, while she’s not one to support banning books, Sinclair says parental consent could be required for certain titles.
Sinclair is drafting a “Parents Bill of Rights” and she says its passage is her highest priority in the 2022 legislative session.
Sinclair says those are the kind of tools parents need to be actively engaged in their child’s education.
Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls says he’s thrilled the discussion has moved away from putting teachers in jail, as that likely discouraged teachers from taking or staying in jobs in Iowa schools. The governor and lawmakers made their remarks Tuesday during a statehouse forum sponsored by the Iowa Capitol Press Association.
