SF496 mandates the Department of Education (DE) to establish rules necessitating periodic reviews of library materials in school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, with a focus on identifying obscene or sexually explicit content. School districts must inform the DE when removing such books, and the DE maintains a list of these titles. Access to these books by students requires prior parental or guardian consent. The bill introduces curriculum changes, including a prohibition on gender identity or human sexuality instruction before grade five (or six for elementary schools teaching grade six). It also eliminates content related to certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and requires students to pass the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services civics test in their United States government classes.
The Iowa State House of Representatives passed SF496 on April 20, 2023 by a vote of 57 to 38. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because protecting our children from obscene images in school and woke curriculum is of the utmost importance. The woke leftist agenda seeks to indoctrinate children with this disgusting material, and it must be reined in.