https://www.kcci.com/article/bans-on-books-and-lgbtq-topics-whats-in-gov-reynolds-new-education-bill/42819425

Despite how the republicans like to frame these bills it is about removing the LGBTQ+ representation from schools and society.   It is not about protecting kids against sexualization because in Wyoming GOP Opposes Bill To Ban Child Marriage in a state with no limits to how young kids can get married; the republicans refuse to limit that to 16 and above.   They say it goes against religious liberties.   Yes I guess the right to marry and have sex with 10 or 12 year olds is not sexualizing them but don’t let a drag queen read to them or them know that their teacher is in a same sex marriage because they will rush to be gay?   Plus the way these bills are written shows the target is anything not straight heterosexual 1950s norm.  Schools would not be able to provide any program, curriculum, material, test, survey, questionnaire, activity, announcement, promotion, or instruction of any kind relating to gender identity or sexual activity in grades K-3.  That would require no use of Mr. or Mrs. / Miss.  It would require no use of the word boy or girl.  It would require no mention of either boy / girl dating as well as stopping any same sex dating in school.  Teachers wouldn’t be able to announce they are pregnant and might even have to hide it or be removed as that happens only to females and is caused by sexual activity.   Really it would mean getting rid of separate boy / girl gendered bathrooms as the bills are written.   No gender roles can be discussed such as who can play on which teams as that is related to gender.  Also no girls or boys only clothing as that is gender promotion / instruction.    But all that is ignored with a wink and a nod because everyone understands these are targeted to stop acceptance of gay and trans or other LGBTQ+ kids / people.  It is to stop kids who are different from seeing themselves in books or movies, making it seem they are wrong, evil, sick, or just not to be tolerated in the US society.  It is to promote hetero straight society and remove those who don’t fit that mold.   It is to roll back all the advancements in society.   These same people will target blacks and native people next to be removed.  Also what is social-emotional learning.  That is anti-bullying and programs to promote tolerance of those that are different.   It is about being kind and civil to others.   That is what these republican maga haters are desperate to prevent.  They don’t want kids taught to be nice to others, but they want their kids to be allowed even encouraged to attack and target those who are different from them.   They don’t want non-straight kids to feel safe, they want them scared and in hiding.   I am tired of the attacks, and the clear assault on the rights of people to just be who they really are that harms no one.   Just as straight people are born straight so are gay kids / trans kids.  But these republicans insist that everyone be just like them and that only they have rights.     We must fight to stop what the right is doing to harm the kids and people in our country.   One republican Governor said on the news that there seems to be more trans people now and he did not understand that, maybe kids were being pushed into it.  But that has been debunked.   Has he thought that kids who were not being targeted for how they felt about themselves felt free to express it?  These republicans don’t want information they want to run on feelings, impressions, and misinformation that reenforce their feelings that it is not a true thing.    One republican on the panel said that rather than letting kids change their hair and go by a different name that they should be forced into mental health treatments.  Hugs

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds proposes a wide range of changes for schools including restrictions on LGBTQ topics, new history class requirements and a process to restrict access to certain books.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds unveiled a sweeping education bill Thursday that would set new standards for what students can and can’t learn. It also establishes more control for parents over their children’s education. Here’s what’s in the bill:

Restrictions on topics involving gender identity and sexual orientation

 

The bill would ban any instruction related to gender identity and sexual activity in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools and innovation zone schools in grades K-3.

Schools would not be able to provide any program, curriculum, material, test, survey, questionnaire, activity, announcement, promotion, or instruction of any kind relating to gender identity or sexual activity in grades K-3.

Schools would be required to tell parents any information their child shares with a teacher or staff member about their gender identity if what the student expresses is different from the “biological sex” listed on their birth certificate.

The bill does provide an exception if a school district believes that notifying the parent or guardian would lead to a case of child abuse. In that instance, the school district does not need to notify the parent but would be required to immediately report the safety concerns to the department of health and human services. The department would then determine whether the child is in need of assistance.

Parents would have to give schools written permission for teachers or any school employee to use a nickname or pronoun that does not match the biological sex listed on their child’s birth certificate.

Removing books from schools

The bill would require each school district to publish online all materials used in all classes throughout the district, all employees in direct contact with students, all books available in classrooms and school libraries, and a detailed process for parents to request any material be removed.

Districts would be required to update that information two times a semester or at the start of each trimester.

Any book removed from a school would be put on a statewide “removal list” maintained by the Iowa Department of Education. The “comprehensive removal list” would be available online, updated every month and sortable by the book’s title, author and the school districts that have removed the book from school libraries, classrooms or any areas on school property.

A school district must receive written parental permission before allowing a student to check out or access any book that is on the statewide removal list.

Establishes ‘parental rights’

The bill establishes that “a parent or guardian bears the ultimate responsibility, and has the constitutionally protected right, to make decisions affecting the parent’s or guardian’s minor child, including decisions related to the minor child’s medical care, moral upbringing, religious upbringing, residence, education, and extracurricular activities.”

Schools would be required to receive parental permission for students to attend any activity or instruction provided by a guest lecturer or outside presenter or any activity or instruction that involves obscene or sexually explicit material.

If school districts break that rule, they could face fines of up to $5,000.

Changes to the social studies curriculum

The bill would require all Iowa high school students to take a U.S. citizenship test, and schools would be required to provide the results to the Department of Education.

High school students would need to answer at least 70% of the questions to graduate. Students can continue to retake the citizenship test until they earn a passing grade.

Removing HPV from health curriculum

The bill would remove the current requirement that Iowa schools teach seventh-grade through 12th-grade students instruction related to human papillomavirus and the availability of a vaccine to prevent HPV.

Restrictions on social-emotional learning

Schools would be required to receive written parent permission in order for a student to take any survey or test that evaluates mental, emotional, or physical health that is not required by state or federal law.

Teachers would have to give parents written notice at least seven days before any test or survey that evaluates their child’s mental, emotional, or physical health.