Des Moines, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds says if a book is banned in one school district, state law should require that all Iowa schools get a parent’s permission before letting a student see it.
Reynolds spoke Thursday night at a town hall event organized by Moms for Liberty, a conservative parents’ rights group.
Local members of Moms for Liberty have led efforts to remove books they consider obscene from Iowa school libraries. They also support a bill to ban materials or instruction about gender identity in kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms and another that would require parents be notified if their child asks to be known by a different name or gender at school.
Protesters who shouted and waved a transgender flag at one point during the governor’s remarks were escorted out by police. A small group of Republican legislators also spoke at the event and answered questions from the crowd.
HF5, which discusses removal of books from school libraries, is sponsored by Representative Skylar Wheeler, who is the State Representative for a portion of our broadcast area in Sioux County. HF5 requires the board of directors of a school district to adopt protocols for selection, review, reconsideration, and removal of materials from libraries operated by the school district, and that the process and protocols be made available to be prominently displayed on the school district’s internet site. In the case of a parent’s objection to materials, the school district shall make a recommendation to the board of directors of the school district, which would then inform the parents of the district’s decision whether or not to follow the district’s recommendation. Should a parent or guardian not accept the outcome, the parent or guardian may then appeal to the state board of education.
