Iowa educators preparing for new parental rights legislation

PACKWOOD, Iowa (KCRG) – Preparations for the next school year are underway at the Pekin Community School District in Packwood, Iowa. But this year, new education laws are bringing changes to Pekin – and the rest of Iowa. Superintendent Derek Philips says they’ll be ready when students return in August.

Currently, the District is, “Looking at our student handbook and making sure that it complies with the law but then working with my administrators and saying, ‘okay, so, this is how the law reads. What do we need to do to make sure our teachers our students, our community, is aware of these changes?’,” Philips said.

“An awful lot of confusion.” That’s what Iowa’s teacher’s union is saying about the rollout of many of the parental rights education laws passed in the last legislative session. They’re set to take effect on July 1st.

Among the changes Iowa Republicans enacted this year: A ban on teaching gender identity and sexual orientation until 7th grade, requiring districts to alert parents if a student requests accommodations to affirm their gender, and banning books containing any sexual content from schools.

Melissa Peterson, Legislative and Policy Director for the Iowa State Education Association says teachers are worried about violating the new laws – since the Iowa Department of Education has not given any guidance on it.

“It is really hard, again, given the circumstances to not feel like it’s kind of ‘gotcha’ like a game of gotcha at the point where it doesn’t seem like we’re gonna get any additional guidance out of the Department of Education,” Peterson said.

Of particular concern is identifying books now banned from classrooms under the new law. Some critics of the new law argue it could include classics like Romeo and Juliet, which include a sex scene.

“It’s also very troubling when you have other individuals who are not trained education professionals who are trying to dictate what is available in our classrooms and in our libraries. That’s why we have professionals, and we think a lot of this needs to be left to the professionals,” Peterson said.

The Iowa Department of Education declined to speak with us about the new laws and its guidance for districts.

Philips says it’s not unlike every summer when new laws take effect. “And so, it’s kind of the same process we look for guidance. We collaborate, we sit down with administrators, and then make sure our communities are aware,” Philips said.

Though he admits – this year’s changes are more than normal

The ban on sexual content in school libraries takes effect July 1, but enforcement won’t start until January. First violations are warnings but after that librarians and teachers could face fines or lose their license.

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