Des Moines, Iowa — Republicans in the Iowa Senate have approved most of the elements in the governor’s education bill.
The legislation would require educators to tell parents if a child asks to be known by a different name or gender at school and it would prohibit teachers from leading discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms. Senator Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa, says those topics are totally unnecessary for elementary students.
The Senate bill also calls for removing books from school libraries that describe or depict sex acts. Democrats in the Senate voted against the legislation. Senator Molly Donahue, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, is a teacher.
House Republicans have approved elements of the governor’s education package as separate bills. Republican legislative leaders now have to decide whether to approve the policies separately or together in one large bill.
