Iowa can enforce previously blocked ‘don’t say gay’ law, appeals court rules

An appellate court said Iowa can enforce a ban on LGBTQ+-themed books in libraries and the Hawkeye State’s “don’t say gay” law.

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit removed preliminary injunctions that had blocked provisions of a law signed by Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2023. That law drew multiple lawsuits, with federal judges previously halting key provisions.

Iowa Safe Schools, backed by Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union, had challenged part of the law and secured an injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. But state officials appealed, and appellate judges said the law can be enforced while the lawsuits continue.

“This ruling is a setback, but it is not the end of this fight,” said Nathan Maxwell, senior attorney at Lambda Legal. “Iowa’s SF 496 is a cruel and unconstitutional law that silences LGBTQ+ children, erases their existence from classrooms, and forces educators to expose vulnerable students to potential harm at home. We will continue to use every legal tool available to protect these young people. They deserve nothing less.”

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The lawsuit challenged a ban on instruction or curriculum materials relating to gender identity or sexual orientation, as well as a requirement that school staff notify parents or guardians if a student is transgender.

Appellate judges said lower courts had “engaged in flawed analysis” of the state law that ultimately created an “expansive view of the law’s scope,” according to an opinion by U.S. Circuit Judge Ralph Erickson, an appointee of President Donald Trump.

“Throughout the litigation, the State has insisted that this statute applies only to mandatory parts of the educational curriculum. Reading the plain language, we cannot say the State’s assertion is wrong,” Erickson wrote.

A group of publishers, led by Penguin Random House, separately challenged the law requiring books containing depictions of sex acts to be removed from school libraries. A lower court had blocked that provision on free speech grounds, but the appellate court said that too went too far.

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“The First Amendment does not guarantee students the right to access books of their choosing at taxpayer expense,” Erickson wrote in a separate opinion. The cases will continue at the district court level. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a Republican, cheered the ruling.

“This is a huge win for Iowa parents,” Bird said. “Parents should always know that school is a safe place for their children to learn, not be concerned they are being indoctrinated with inappropriate sexual materials and philosophies. I am grateful that our law protecting children was upheld today.”

But the state’s largest teachers union expressed disappointment that the law will take effect while the challenge continues.

“Our schools should be safe spaces where students are free to learn, teachers can use their professional expertise without fear, and families can trust that education is based on open inquiry rather than government censorship,” said Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown in a statement reported by The Gazette.