Bills › 88th General Assembly
Relating to sexual orientation or gender identity instruction or related materials provided by school districts to pupils
Topics:K–12 educationLGBTQIA+
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 31, 2020
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 6, 2020
- Stopped: House committeeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: Senate committee
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2020 session adjourned on June 14, 2020, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary Iowa school districts must notify parents about any classroom materials or activities involving sexual orientation or gender identity. Parents can request in writing to have their child excused from these specific lessons or materials. Schools are also required to show parents how they can inspect these materials before they are used in class.1
Read the official explanation
This bill requires school districts to provide notification and information relating to, and allows pupils to be excused from, any program, curriculum, material, test, survey, questionnaire, activity, announcement, promotion, or instruction of any kind relating to sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill requires a school district that provides such instruction or related material to annually provide to a parent or guardian of a pupil enrolled in the school district with information about the instruction or material used in the pupil’s grade level, the procedure for inspecting the materials prior to their use in the classroom, and information regarding the procedure the parent or guardian must follow to request that the pupil be excused from the instruction and from receiving any related materials. The school district must, upon request by any agency or organization, provide information about such instruction and related materials and the procedure for inspecting and updating the same. A pupil shall not be required to take or participate in any such instruction or receive related materials if the pupil’s parent or guardian files with the appropriate principal a written request that the pupil be excused. The bill shall not be construed to require a school district to provide any activity, instruction, or materials relating to sexual orientation or gender identity that is not otherwise required by law.
House subcommittee
Named February 6, 2020. On February 12, 2020 it recommended amendment and passage.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part