Final public hearing on Iowa education law moves rulemaking process forward
The state is one step closer to finalizing how a sweeping education law should be implemented and enforced. Tuesday marked the final public hearing on the proposed rules.
The state is one step closer to finalizing how a sweeping education law should be implemented and enforced. Tuesday marked the final public hearing on the proposed rules.
The state is one step closer to finalizing how a sweeping education law should be implemented and enforced. Tuesday marked the final public hearing on the proposed rules.
The state is one step closer to finalizing how a sweeping education law should be implemented and enforced. Tuesday marked the final public hearing on the proposed rules.
The law, passed in 2023, requires schools to remove books with written or visual depictions of a sex act, and bars instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Rules were set for some portions of the law last June. A lawsuit put other pieces of the policy on pause, temporarily halting the rest of the rule-making process.
With the full law now fully in effect, the public had two opportunities to give in-person feedback on the proposed rules that will be submitted to the state board for consideration.
According to Thomas Mayes, rulemaking coordinator and general counsel for the Iowa Department of Education, the state board's February meeting will be their earliest opportunity to consider adopting the proposed rules.
What are the proposed rules?
Under the proposed rules, school districts must post a list of all books available to students and update it "at least two times per calendar year."
If a school's library serves multiple grades, the district is required to "exercise reasonable physical, administrative, and technological controls to ensure that students have access to age-appropriate materials based on the student’s age and grade."
Staff and administrators who break the law will first receive a written warning. Repeated offenses could mean appearing before the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners.
The law also bans any instruction or promotion relating to gender identity or sexual orientation before seventh grade. The rules clarify that mentioning those topics factually or neutrally does not violate the law.
How did the state collect public feedback?
The public had two opportunities to give in-person feedback at public hearings on these proposed rules. No one from the public attended Tuesday's meeting. One person spoke at the November public hearing.
The time and location of both meetings were posted on the state's administrative rules .
Mayes said that he received roughly thirty written comments that will be summarized and presented to the state board for consideration.
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